India: At least 121 killed in stampede during religious celebration
According to authorities, the event took place in the city of Hathras, where thousands of people had gathered to celebrate the Hindu deity Shiva.
Image of emergency services helping the injured after the stampede that took place in India on July 2, 2024.
At least 121 people were crushed to death by the crowd during a religious celebration in northern India, a medical services official said Tuesday.
"We have 121 bodies so far ... and bodies continue to arrive," Ram Mohan Tiwari, a senior medical services official in the state of Uttar Pradesh, told AFP.
A large crowd had gathered to celebrate the Hindu deity Shiva in the town of Hathras, about 87 miles southeast of New Delhi.
According to Umesh Kumar Tripathi, a medical officer, the dead include 25 women and two men.
"Many injured have also been admitted," he told reporters. "The main reason is a stampede during a religious event."
Fatal accidents are common at major religious celebrations in India.
In 2016, at least 112 people were killed by an explosion caused by fireworks at a temple where the Hindu New Year was being celebrated in the state of Kerala.
RECOMMENDATION
LATEST
