87 dead in stampede in North India
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"There is a possibility that the toll may go up," district police spokesperson Manish Chikar told Reuters in a phone call.
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A religious gathering in northern India has been rocked by a deadly stampede. July 2, 2024. (AP)
Approximately 87 people have died in a stampede at a religious event on Tuesday in North India's Uttar Pradesh, authorities said.
Over 150 people were admitted to hospitals, according to medical official Umesh Tripathi, adding the death toll may rise.
"I can't give the exact toll at the moment, but it is approximately 60," district police spokesperson Manish Chikara in a phone call with Reuters initially. "There is a possibility that the toll may go up."
The stampede is a result of the attendees rushing to leave with religious leader Bhole Baba, according to local media.
The police told the Press Trust of India news agency that the number of people gathered is undetermined, but that overcrowding may have been a factor in the stampede.
"Instructions have been given to the concerned officials to conduct relief and rescue operations on war footing and to provide proper treatment to the injured," State Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath wrote on X.
Unverified videos of bodies piled up on the ground outside a hospital are circulating on social media. According to Reuters, they could not immediately verify the videos.
Stampede at religious shrine kills 12
The world's most populous country is no stranger to stampedes.
On January 1, 2022, Indian officials said that at least 12 people were killed and 13 were injured in a stampede at a religious shrine in the early hours of Saturday, as thousands of pilgrims gathered to offer prayers.
The tragedy occurred around 3:00 a.m. (2130 GMT) on the way to the Vaishno Devi shrine in Kashmir, one of the country's most revered Hindu sites.
A witness said that "people fell over each other... It was difficult to figure out whose leg or arms were tangled with whose."
"I helped pick up eight bodies by the time ambulances arrived after about half an hour," he added.
According to one official, there was a rush to offer special prayers for the New Year, but this was not confirmed by others.
More than 370 Hindus were killed in two stampedes in India in 2008. Furthermore, stampedes in Kerala in 2011 and in Madhya Pradesh two years later each killed more than 100.
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