Hathras (UP), Bodies lay scattered at a medical center in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras district on Tuesday as people gathered around them, wiping away tears and consoling each other.
The harrowing scenes unfolded outside the district's Sikandara Rao Trauma Center, where dead or unconscious victims of the stampede at a satsang in Phulrai village were taken away in ambulances, trucks and cars.
A woman was crying as she sat among five or six bodies in a truck, urging people to help her remove the body of her daughter from the vehicle. A video clip showed a man and woman lying lifeless in a different vehicle.
Many of the injured were seen lying near the entrance of the local government hospital surrounded by anxious relatives. Locals blamed the administration's negligence for the tragedy.
As the hours passed, the official death estimate rose and the crowd outside the trauma center and morgue grew.
According to a senior district official, between 50 and 60 people, mostly women, are believed to have died in the stampede and several more were injured.
"There are between 100 and 200 victims and there was only one doctor in the hospital. There were no facilities to receive oxygen. Some are still breathing, but there are no proper treatment facilities," said an agitated young man outside the hospital.
Witness Shakuntala Devi told ideos that the stampede took place while people were leaving the venue at the end of the 'satsang'. "Outside there was a road built high over a drain. People were falling on top of each other," she said.
The stampede apparently occurred due to overcrowding, said Sikandra police station SHO Rao.
According to officials, the government has formed a team comprising the additional director general of police of Agra and the divisional commissioner of Aligarh to investigate the incident.
Speaking to the media, district magistrate Ashish Kumar said it was a private function for which permission was granted by the sub-divisional magistrate. The local administration was in charge of security outside the venue, while the organizers were in charge of the internal organization, he added.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed condolences to the families of those killed in the stampede and directed officials to reach the accident site and carry out relief measures. He announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh ex gratia to the families of the dead and Rs 50,000 each to the injured.
The Uttar Pradesh government said an FIR will be registered against the organizers of the programme.
Adityanath also directed the district administration to arrange proper treatment for the injured and immediately take them to hospitals. He wished them a speedy recovery.
The harrowing scenes unfolded outside the district's Sikandara Rao Trauma Center, where dead or unconscious victims of the stampede at a satsang in Phulrai village were taken away in ambulances, trucks and cars.
A woman was crying as she sat among five or six bodies in a truck, urging people to help her remove the body of her daughter from the vehicle. A video clip showed a man and woman lying lifeless in a different vehicle.
Many of the injured were seen lying near the entrance of the local government hospital surrounded by anxious relatives. Locals blamed the administration's negligence for the tragedy.
As the hours passed, the official death estimate rose and the crowd outside the trauma center and morgue grew.
According to a senior district official, between 50 and 60 people, mostly women, are believed to have died in the stampede and several more were injured.
"There are between 100 and 200 victims and there was only one doctor in the hospital. There were no facilities to receive oxygen. Some are still breathing, but there are no proper treatment facilities," said an agitated young man outside the hospital.
Witness Shakuntala Devi told ideos that the stampede took place while people were leaving the venue at the end of the 'satsang'. "Outside there was a road built high over a drain. People were falling on top of each other," she said.
The stampede apparently occurred due to overcrowding, said Sikandra police station SHO Rao.
According to officials, the government has formed a team comprising the additional director general of police of Agra and the divisional commissioner of Aligarh to investigate the incident.
Speaking to the media, district magistrate Ashish Kumar said it was a private function for which permission was granted by the sub-divisional magistrate. The local administration was in charge of security outside the venue, while the organizers were in charge of the internal organization, he added.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed condolences to the families of those killed in the stampede and directed officials to reach the accident site and carry out relief measures. He announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh ex gratia to the families of the dead and Rs 50,000 each to the injured.
The Uttar Pradesh government said an FIR will be registered against the organizers of the programme.
Adityanath also directed the district administration to arrange proper treatment for the injured and immediately take them to hospitals. He wished them a speedy recovery.
