TRIBUNE
India’s deadliest stampede in over a decade left 121 people dead at a vastly overcrowded Hindu religious gathering.
A police report said more than 250,000 people attended the event in northern India’s Uttar Pradesh state, more than triple the 80,000 organisers had permission for.
People fell on top of each other as they tumbled down a slope into a water-logged ditch, witnesses said.
“Everyone –- the entire crowd, including women and children –- all left from the event site at once,” said police officer Sheela Maurya, 50, who had been on duty Tuesday as a popular Hindu preacher delivered a sermon.
“There wasn’t enough space, and everyone just fell on top of each other.”
Almost all of the dead were women, along with seven children and one man.
Officials suggested the stampede was triggered when worshippers tried to gather soil from the footsteps of the preacher, while others blamed a dust storm for sparking panic.
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