Hathras stampede: Eyewitnesses recount tragedy as search for missing family members continues
stampede incident at a religious event in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh, resulted in 116 people dying and 18 being injured.
The tragic incident took place after the ‘sastang’ of Bhole Baba got over and people tried to get out in a hurry. Eyewitnesses said that the stampede happened because of the overcrowding and the hurry in which people wanted to get out.
Shakuntala Devi, an eyewitness in the Hathras stampede incident, said, «There was a Satsang of Bhole Baba going on. Right after the Satsang finished, several people started coming out from there. A stampede took place as the road was uneven and people fell on each other.”
”The road was built on a height with a drain below. One after the other, people started falling into it. Some people got crushed,” she added.
Several people could not find their relatives in the chaos.
A woman said that her daughter was missing. „We had come here to attend the Satsang from Agra. My 15-year-old daughter is missing. She can not speak. Around 20-25 people had come from Agra but we couldn't find my daughter anywhere. Police say they do not know anything.”
Suresh, another eyewitness, said, “I came here with my family members from Badaun. The wife of my younger brother is missing after the stampede. We got to know that several people were missing. I was making announcements on the mic but it did not help. We were eight people, but she is missing.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia to the next kin of the dead and Rs 50,000 to the
