Dozens of people died on a footsteps on Wednesday morning in the north, police sources and witnesses told Reuters, as tens of millions gathered to dive into the sacred waters of the river on the most auspicious day of a Hindu Festival.
The bodies were still transferred to the local morgue of the Medical College Hospital, Lal Nehros, over 12 hours after the tragedy, to the greatest pilgrimage of all time, organized every 12 years in Gangratz, although authorities have not yet announced officially announced it. number of victims.
Nearly 40 corpses were transferred to the morgue, three police sources reported to Reuters. An eyewitness measured 39 corpses in the morgue. One of the three police sources and a fourth officer said that all 39 were victims of panic and footsteps.
“More corpses are coming. We have nearly 40 corpses here, we transport them and deliver them to their families one by one, “one of the sources said. There were 15 ambulances outside the morgue and about half a dozen people were looking for their loved ones, while at least 60 are injured.
Stampede at Religious Festival in India
A stampede during the massive Hindu Kumbh Mela religious festival, one of the world’s largest religious events, has left at least 15 dead and dozens of injured people. The authorities were waiting for an influx …
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The accident occurred when crowds were poured out to the intersection of three rivers, where the sinking is considered particularly sacred. Tens of millions of faithful flock from all over India and abroad to dive into the point where the Ganges and Yamuna rivers are united.
According to believers who spoke to AFP, the accident occurred on the night, while crowds were going to the banks of the rivers for Wednesday’s first bath, which was considered the most important event of this year’s pilgrimage.
Faithful and rescuers immediately intervened to remove the victims, while clothes, shoes and other objects remain abandoned at the scene of the tragedy.
Some witnesses talked about a huge impulse that made the faithful fall over each other, while others said that closing the routes to the water stopped the dense crowd and caused the collapse of the world due to suffocation.
“There was a riot, everyone began to push, pull, climb each other. My mother collapsed … then my sister -in -law. People ran and fell on them, “said a 40 -year -old relative of two victims, waiting for an ambulance with their bodies.
‘When we found her, she was dead’ – Dozens feared dead in a crush at India’s Maha Kumbh Mela festival.
Indian PM Narendra Modi called the tragedy ‘extremely sad’ and added that the local government was ‘engaged in helping the victims in every possible way’.
The ‘Maha’ or grand…
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Sarogia, who had traveled to the festival from the southern town of Belagavi and only gave her small name, accused the police of the deaths of four members of her family. “The police did not make the right arrangements. He is responsible for that, “he shouted. Police have said that he did everything he can to manage the huge crowd.
An official at the SRN Hospital in Egagratz, where some of the injured were transported, said that those who died either had a heart attack or had underlying diseases, such as diabetes.
“People came with fractures, broken bones … Some collapsed on the spot and were killed dead,” said the official, who did not want to be named.
Prime Minister Narendra Monti expressed condolences to those who lost their loved ones, “without clarifying the number of dead.
Yogi Antitianath, head of the District of Utar Prande, where the city of the Greagratz Festival is located, said the tragedy was caused when some believers tried to jump the barricades that had been placed to manage the crowd.
On stage after the riot, some sat on the ground, while others passed over objects left by those who were trying to escape the crash.
Opposition “fire” for mismanagement and “VIP culture”
In the mismanagement “and the” culture of the VIPs “of the government, they threw responsibility for the tragedy, the opposition parties.
“VIP culture should be limited and the government will have to make better arrangements to meet the needs of common believers,” said Rahul Gandhi, leader of the Congress opposition party in X, referring to politicians and the politicians and the celebrities treated differently.
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
Multiple people were killed and several more injured in a stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela in Northern India as millions gathered to take a holy dip to mark the six-week-long Hindu festival’s most auspicious day— Reuters (@Reuters)
The accident, however, did not prevent the tens of thousands of believers to dive into the frozen waters of Ganges and Yamuna to get rid of their sins, as Hindu tradition wants.
By Tuesday nearly 200 million people had gone to the pilgrimage, which began two weeks ago, officials said, adding that more than 57 million faithful had dipped in the river waters only today, until 14:00 (local time , 10:30 Greek time).
The pilgrimage, which is expected to attract a total of about 400 million people, compared to the Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, which raised 1.8 million last year, is completed on 26 February.
The pious Hindus believe that the dive in the contribution of three sacred rivers – of Gaga, Yamuna and the mythical, invisible Sarasuati – relieves people of sins and, during Kumbh, also brings salvation from the cycle of life and life. death.
Attendees this year included Defense Minister Ratznath Singh, Interior Minister AMIT SCHACH, business colossus President Adani Group, Gutam Anai and celebrities such as Coldplay Martin, who said local media. Monty was expected to visit the festival next month.
At least seven people were killed and many more were injured in a stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela festival in northern India early Wednesday.
Drone footage captured massive crowds as tens of thousands arrived to take ritual baths in sacred rivers.
— ABC News (@ABC)
Authorities expected that 100 million people would be crowded on Wednesday in the temporary camp and developed additional medical and security personnel, along with AI software -based technology for crowds.
The television reports? AZ showed dozens of ascetics, grievous with sacred ashes or saffron flavored, moving towards the contribution of the rivers, as security personnel and dense crowds were looking and helicopters threw petals from above.
Suspensions on social media have spoken of high traffic congestion on the streets leading to Greagratz, as authorities tried to manage the crowd, excluding access to many people.
“I have designed this trip for more than a year, but I have stuck in traffic for 19 hours,” said American travel blogger Dru Binsky on Instagram, where it has more than 1.2 million followers.
In the past there have been other tracks during Koula Mela: In 1954 more than 400 people were killed, either after being trampled or drowned in one day.
In the immediate previous pilgrimage, in 2013, where 120 million people participated, 36 people died at the train station of Egagratz.
Opposition parties have accused the outbreak of what they called the government’s “mismanagement” and “culture of VIP”.
“VIP culture should be limited and the government will have to make better arrangements to meet the needs of common believers,” said Rahul Gandhi, leader of the Congress opposition party in X, referring to politicians and the politicians and the celebrities treated differently.
Source: Reuters, AFP
