Around 100 worshippers have been crushed to death at a Hindu religious gathering in northern India, government medics have said.
The death toll has risen to 97, with scores of others injured, a senior government official said. There are fears the death toll could increase further.
Crowds had gathered to celebrate the Hindu deity Shiva in the town of Sikandrarao, Uttar Pradesh state, some 120 miles (200km) southeast of New Delhi.
‘We have confirmed 97 deaths so far and are focusing on providing relief and medical aid for the victims,’ Chaitra V., divisional commissioner of Aligarh city in Uttar Pradesh state, said.
Unverified videos on social media show bodies piled up on the ground outside a local hospital.
Video shows huge crowds of panicked worshippers with sirens blaring in the background
Women mourn next to the body of a relative outside the Sikandrarao hospital in Hathras
Pictures on social media show bodies laid out on the ground outside a local hospital in the town of Sikandra Rao, Uttar Pradesh
Indian president Droupadi Murmu said in a statement on X: ‘The news of the death of many devotees including women and children in the accident in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh is heart-rending.
‘I express my deepest condolences to those who lost their family members and pray for the speedy recovery of those injured.’
State Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said his thoughts were with the bereaved families and he ordered an urgent investigation into the incident.
‘Instructions have been given to the concerned officials to conduct relief and rescue operations on war footing and to provide proper treatment to the injured,’ he wrote on X.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi said he has spoken to Adityanath regarding the tragic incident.
He said the Uttar Pradesh government ‘is engaged in providing all possible help to all the victims.’
‘My condolences are with those who have lost their loved ones in this,’ he added, ‘Along with this, I wish for the speedy recovery of all the injured.’
Hathras District Magistrate Ashish Kumar said that, according to numbers received from the community health centre, between 50 and 60 people were killed.
‘The stampede broke out in a village within the Sikandra Rao police station limits in Hathras. The injured are being taken to hospitals,’ he said.
He added: ‘This was a private event and permission had been given by the sub-divisional magistrate.
Concerned relatives gather outside a local hospital where patients injured in the stampede are being treated
‘Security arrangements were made by the administration but the other arrangements were supposed to be made by the organisers,’ Mr Kumar said.
Umesh Kumar Tripathi, chief medical officer, said many injured have been admitted to hospital and added: ‘The primary reason is a stampede during a religious event.’
He previously told reporters that 27 people had been killed, of whom 25 were women and two were men.
Uttar Pradesh state senior medical officer Ram Mohan Tiwari said earlier: ‘We have received 27 bodies so far… bodies are still coming.’
Deadly accidents are common at places of worship in India during major religious festivals.
At least 112 people were killed in 2016 after a huge explosion caused by a banned fireworks display at a temple marking the Hindu new year.
Etah Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Umesh Kumar Tripathi confirmed an early death toll in the stampede
Police are investigating the crush, which took place at a religious gathering
The blast ripped through concrete buildings and ignited a fire at a temple complex in Kerala state, where thousands had gathered.
Another 115 devotees died in 2013 after a stampede at a bridge near a temple in Madhya Pradesh.
Up to 400,000 people were gathered in the area, and the stampede occurred after a rumour spread that the bridge was about to collapse.
About 224 pilgrims died and more than 400 others were injured in a 2008 stampede at a hilltop temple in the northern city of Jodhpur.
