Hathras and the tragic history of major stampedes at religious events in India
stampede at a Hindu religious gathering in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, authorities said, in one of the worst such tragedies in recent years. The stampede happened in a village in Hathras district, about 200 km southeast of the national capital New Delhi, where authorities said a large crowd had gathered on an open area of land in response to a call from a religious leader.
Here is a list of major stampedes in India over the years, most of them at religious festivals or gatherings:
JANUARY 2005: More than 265 Hindu devotees were killed and hundreds more injured after a stampede at the Mandhardevi temple in Wai town in the western state of Maharashtra. The stampede was caused by slippery steps leading up to the temple, media reported at the time.
AUGUST 2008: At the mountaintop Naina Devi temple in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, about 145 Hindu pilgrims died after rumours of a landslide triggered a stampede.
SEPTEMBER 2008: A total of 250 people were trampled to death at the Chamundagar temple in the northern desert state of Rajasthan as pilgrims gathered to celebrate Navratri, a nine-day festival that celebrates the Goddess Durga.
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MARCH 2010: At least 63 people, more than half of them children, were killed in a stampede
