Death toll doubles to 116 after stampede at religious event in India

At least 116 people were crushed to death and hundreds more injured in a stampede during a religious celebration in northern India on Tuesday, a senior local official said.

Worshippers had gathered to hear a guru speak at celebrations honouring the Hindu deity Shiva in the city of Hathras, but a sandstorm caused panic as the crowd was dispersing.

Many were crushed or trampled to death, and some fell into a ditch that runs alongside a road.

Most of the dead were women, Uttar Pradesh’s chief medical officer, Umesh Kumar Tripathi, told reporters. “Many injured people” were taken to hospital by dozens of ambulances, he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced compensation of $2,400 to the families of those killed and $600 to those injured in the “tragic incident.”

“My deepest condolences to those who have lost their loved ones (…). I wish a speedy recovery to all those injured,” he wrote on the social network X, formerly Twitter.

Deadly stampedes have rocked the country on several occasions during religious festivals, where large crowds gather in small areas with few security measures.

In 2016, at least 112 people were killed in a fireworks explosion at a temple celebrating the Hindu New Year in the state of Kerala.

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