At least 116 people were killed on Tuesday in a stampede at a Hindu religious event in northern India, and many of them were women and children.
More than 80 others were also injured and admitted to hospitals, says senior police officer Shalabh Mathur who talked to the Diplomat.
Authorities told US News that this is one of the country’s worst such tragedies in years.
The stampede began when thousands of attendees hurried out of a makeshift tent, but it wasn’t immediately clear what had caused the fear after an event with Hindu leader Bhole Baba.
According to the Mint, Baba has been missing since the stampede. He is also known as Narayan Saakar Hari. The Mint reported event organizers had permission to host 5,000 people, but 15,000 attended.
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Authorities were quoted in local news reports as suggesting that suffocation and heat inside the tent may have played a role. The building looked to have collapsed, according to footage captured in the aftermath.
“There was wet mud at one place where people may have slipped. Also because of the heat, people may have made their way to the spot where water was kept and that could have caused the incident as well,” senior state official Chaitra V said.
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