Massive overcrowding led to stampede in India's Hathras, document says

3/7/2024 11:35

        Around 250,000 people had gathered at the Hindu religious congregation in northern India where 116 people died in a stampede, more than triple the capacity permitted by authorities.
        
        According to a police document, the stampede happened at a religious function in a village in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh state, about 200 km southeast of the New Delhi, where police had given permission for 80,000 people to gather.
        
        Around 250,000 people attended, said the document, the police first information report of the tragedy.
        
        Yogi Adityanath, chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, has said, the stampede occurred when a crowd of devotees started pushing towards the stage after the event to touch the preacher, who was coming down from a stage.
        
        Local media said the event was organised by a group of devotees, but did not identify anyone. ANI news agency, in which Reuters has a minority stake, said police were trying to ascertain the whereabouts of the preacher.