107 killed in stampede at religious event in India

At least 107 people, most of them women, were killed in a stampede at a religious congregation in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district on Tuesday evening, senior state police officers said.

Additional director general (Agra zone), Anupam Kulshrestha’s office said most of the 107 deaths were women.

Officials said the precise circumstances that led to the stampede were immediately unclear, reports Hindustan Times.

Initial reports that the stampede started soon after the women rushed out of the venue after the religious congregation of religious preacher Bhole Baba ended.

Inspector general Aligarh Range Shalabh Mathur said prima facie, it appeared that some people felt suffocated at the premises because of the hot and humid weather and when the ‘satsang’ ended, those inside the enclosure rushed out resulting in a stampede killing mostly the women and children.