Feature: Stampede at India religious gathering kills about 116, probe ordered

NEW DELHI, July 3 (Xinhua) -- The death toll in Tuesday's stampede in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh rose to 116, confirmed a local administration official to Xinhua over the phone.

The stampede occurred at around 3:00 p.m. local time. Witnesses said 88 victims' bodies were lying at a local trauma center, 27 at Etah Hospital and one at a hospital in Hathras town.

According to preliminary reports, nearly 50,000 people had congregated at a religious gathering in Sikandra Rao area of Hathras. But there were only 40 police posted at the spot to manage the huge crowd, added the reports.

Most of the killed were women and children who died after slipping on the wet ground and falling into a ditch by the roadside.

The tragedy was said to have struck after the ceremony when a religious figure was leaving the venue and people ran towards him to touch his feet and take his blessings.

Suddenly, there was chaos and people started slipping on the wet ground while running, and began falling on each other, said an eyewitness.

"Outside the road was built on a height with a drain below. One after the other, people started falling into it. Some people got crushed," said another eyewitness.

Local resident Ram Asrey Dubey told Xinhua over the phone: "For many years, the religious figure has been giving weekly sermons every Tuesday in several areas in western Uttar Pradesh. His programs draw hundreds of thousands of people, but hardly any care is taken to ensure adequate arrangements."

According to official sources, nearly 18 injured people were admitted to a local hospital where they were being given medical treatment.

The local government has ordered a probe into the stampede. State Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said a team had been set up under the chairmanship of a senior police official which had been tasked to give a detailed report at the earliest about the situation that led to the stampede.

"The chief secretary and the director general of police of the state are camping there. Three ministers of the state government Chaudhary Laxmi Narayan, Sandeep Singh, and Asim Arun are also at the spot," said the chief minister.

Asim Arun told reporters that more than the permitted number of people were present at the event. A local police was quoted as saying that overcrowding had led to the tragedy.

Media reports suggested that a "callous attitude" on the part of the local administration and the police, by turning a blind eye to ensuring adequate arrangements at the venue of the religious gathering, had led to the stampede.

Sandeep Singh told the media that the state government was working to provide the best possible treatment to all the injured as soon as possible.