Hathras (UP), Dozens of bodies lay on blocks of ice inside the government hospital here on Tuesday night after the deadly stampede at a religious congregation, as relatives of the victims waited outside in the drizzle to recover the mortal remains. home.
Authorities have put the death toll at 116, 108 of them women and seven children. The victims were part of the crowd of thousands of people who had gathered near Phulrai village in the Sikandrarau area for the 'satsang' of religious preacher Bhole Baba.
The stampede took place around 3:30 p.m., as Baba was leaving the scene. Outside the Sikandra Rao Community Health Centre, the closest health center to the site of the stampede, many continued searching for their missing relatives until the wee hours of the morning. evening.
Rajesh, who lives in Kasganj district, said he was searching for his mother, while Shivam was searching for his paternal aunt (bua).
They both carried mobile phones in their hands showing photographs of their relatives. "I saw my mother's photo on a news channel and I recognized her. I had come here to watch the program along with two dozen other people from our village." Rajesh said.
Anshu and Pabal Kumar waited near the CHC in their small van, loaded with empty milk containers, hoping to find Gopal Singh, 40, the missing father of his cousin.
"He went to the program but has not returned home yet. He is not clever, he does not even carry a phone," Anshu said. He said Singh was not a follower of Baba but had attended the event for the first time at the insistence of a acquaintance.
Meena Devi, who lost her mother Sudama Devi (65), said, "It was drizzling in the area (Sadiqpur) where I live; otherwise, I had planned to go to the 'sangat' with my mother."
An inconsolable Meena was sitting in front of the tuberculosis department of Bagla combined district hospital, where scores of dead bodies were kept on the ground floor. "My brother, sister-in-law and their children had accompanied my mother to the 'Sangat'. Among the crowd, my mother was left behind and was crushed," he said.
Vinod Kumar Suryavanshi, who lives in Barse village in Sasni tehsil, lost his 72-year-old maternal aunt, while his mother fortunately survived.
"I've been here for three hours. The body is still here and I'm told the autopsy will be done now, but I'm not sure how much longer it will take," he said while waiting for his aunt's son. that he was coming here from Greater Noida.Suryavanshi said his aunt and his mother have been following Baba's sermons for about 15 years and described the stampede as "unfortunate".
Several bodies were here in the regional hospital. Some were at the trauma center in Sikandrarau area, near the incident site, while others were sent to the government hospital in the adjoining Etah district.
"My mother's body is here, but I can't get an ambulance to take it for the autopsy," said Rajesh, wearing a mask as he asked frantic questions to police officers on duty inside the tuberculosis department. Meanwhile, RSS and Bajrang Dal workers and volunteers also remained at the hospital since the afternoon, distributing water packets and offering guidance on medical procedures to the families of the victims, many of whom were in a state of shock and struggling to come to terms with the tragedy. . .
"The number of ambulances was insufficient for the dead bodies we have seen here today," said Aniket, a Bajrang Dal volunteer, as he stood guard at the door of the Tuberculosis Department building, drenched in sweat.
Hours earlier, heartbreaking scenes unfolded outside the district's Sikandara Rao Trauma Center, where victims, dead or unconscious, were transported in ambulances, trucks and cars. A woman was crying as she sat among five or six bodies in a truck, urging the people to help her remove her daughter's body from the vehicle.
"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 above a drain. People were falling on top of each other," he said. A second witness, Sonu Kumar, said there were at least 10,000 people there and that as Baba left, many of them They rushed to touch his feet.
While returning, people slipped and fell on each other because parts of the ground had become swampy due to water overflowing from a nearby drain, he added.
Another person who left the venue before the program ended said the arrangements made were inadequate for the size of the crowd gathered at the venue. While sanding outside the mortuary in Etah, Kailash said people fell on top of each other due to into the slippery mud and the crowd behind them crushed them.
Santosh, who went to Hathras from Firozabad to attend the 'satsang', told reporters: "I went to the Satsang with my sister. Hari ji arrived around noon. It concluded at 1:30 o'clock. I took prasad in the pandal with my sister. .
"When we came out, we saw everyone running towards the darshan. There was a drain nearby and some people fell down." He said the number of police officers at the spot was relatively less.
Agra additional director general of police and Aligarh divisional commissioner are part of a team that will investigate the incident, the state government said. The team has been asked to submit its report within 24 hours.
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 took care of security outside the venue, while the organizers took care of the internal organisation, he added. The Uttar Pradesh government said that an FIR will be registered against the organizers of the programme.
Authorities have put the death toll at 116, 108 of them women and seven children. The victims were part of the crowd of thousands of people who had gathered near Phulrai village in the Sikandrarau area for the 'satsang' of religious preacher Bhole Baba.
The stampede took place around 3:30 p.m., as Baba was leaving the scene. Outside the Sikandra Rao Community Health Centre, the closest health center to the site of the stampede, many continued searching for their missing relatives until the wee hours of the morning. evening.
Rajesh, who lives in Kasganj district, said he was searching for his mother, while Shivam was searching for his paternal aunt (bua).
They both carried mobile phones in their hands showing photographs of their relatives. "I saw my mother's photo on a news channel and I recognized her. I had come here to watch the program along with two dozen other people from our village." Rajesh said.
Anshu and Pabal Kumar waited near the CHC in their small van, loaded with empty milk containers, hoping to find Gopal Singh, 40, the missing father of his cousin.
"He went to the program but has not returned home yet. He is not clever, he does not even carry a phone," Anshu said. He said Singh was not a follower of Baba but had attended the event for the first time at the insistence of a acquaintance.
Meena Devi, who lost her mother Sudama Devi (65), said, "It was drizzling in the area (Sadiqpur) where I live; otherwise, I had planned to go to the 'sangat' with my mother."
An inconsolable Meena was sitting in front of the tuberculosis department of Bagla combined district hospital, where scores of dead bodies were kept on the ground floor. "My brother, sister-in-law and their children had accompanied my mother to the 'Sangat'. Among the crowd, my mother was left behind and was crushed," he said.
Vinod Kumar Suryavanshi, who lives in Barse village in Sasni tehsil, lost his 72-year-old maternal aunt, while his mother fortunately survived.
"I've been here for three hours. The body is still here and I'm told the autopsy will be done now, but I'm not sure how much longer it will take," he said while waiting for his aunt's son. that he was coming here from Greater Noida.Suryavanshi said his aunt and his mother have been following Baba's sermons for about 15 years and described the stampede as "unfortunate".
Several bodies were here in the regional hospital. Some were at the trauma center in Sikandrarau area, near the incident site, while others were sent to the government hospital in the adjoining Etah district.
"My mother's body is here, but I can't get an ambulance to take it for the autopsy," said Rajesh, wearing a mask as he asked frantic questions to police officers on duty inside the tuberculosis department. Meanwhile, RSS and Bajrang Dal workers and volunteers also remained at the hospital since the afternoon, distributing water packets and offering guidance on medical procedures to the families of the victims, many of whom were in a state of shock and struggling to come to terms with the tragedy. . .
"The number of ambulances was insufficient for the dead bodies we have seen here today," said Aniket, a Bajrang Dal volunteer, as he stood guard at the door of the Tuberculosis Department building, drenched in sweat.
Hours earlier, heartbreaking scenes unfolded outside the district's Sikandara Rao Trauma Center, where victims, dead or unconscious, were transported in ambulances, trucks and cars. A woman was crying as she sat among five or six bodies in a truck, urging the people to help her remove her daughter's body from the vehicle.
"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 above a drain. People were falling on top of each other," he said. A second witness, Sonu Kumar, said there were at least 10,000 people there and that as Baba left, many of them They rushed to touch his feet.
While returning, people slipped and fell on each other because parts of the ground had become swampy due to water overflowing from a nearby drain, he added.
Another person who left the venue before the program ended said the arrangements made were inadequate for the size of the crowd gathered at the venue. While sanding outside the mortuary in Etah, Kailash said people fell on top of each other due to into the slippery mud and the crowd behind them crushed them.
Santosh, who went to Hathras from Firozabad to attend the 'satsang', told reporters: "I went to the Satsang with my sister. Hari ji arrived around noon. It concluded at 1:30 o'clock. I took prasad in the pandal with my sister. .
"When we came out, we saw everyone running towards the darshan. There was a drain nearby and some people fell down." He said the number of police officers at the spot was relatively less.
Agra additional director general of police and Aligarh divisional commissioner are part of a team that will investigate the incident, the state government said. The team has been asked to submit its report within 24 hours.
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 took care of security outside the venue, while the organizers took care of the internal organisation, he added. The Uttar Pradesh government said that an FIR will be registered against the organizers of the programme.
