India Stampede: How 121 people were killed

Uttar Pradesh stampede How a monthly religious event led to disaster At a Hindu religious gathering in northern India, 121 people were killed on July 2 in one of the country's worst stampedes in years. The stampede happened in Phulrai Mughal Garhi village in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh, about 200 km (125 miles) southeast of the national capital New Delhi, where authorities said hundreds of thousands had gathered in sweltering late afternoon temperatures. As the Hindu preacher started to leave the venue after addressing the crowd at around 1:30 PM local time, thousands of devotees rushed to get a closer glimpse of him, jostling and pushing on slippery ground, witnesses say. Most of the victims were women, trampled when they fell in the path of the crowd. The preacher Suraj Pal Singh Jatav, 72, also known as 'Bhole Baba', was holding a monthly congregation. The meeting started around noon. About 250,000 people had gathered in a canopied field by a highway, although authorities had given permission for only 80,000, police said. At least 121 people were killed and 31 injured, with the dead including 112 women and seven children. The trouble started after the hour-long afternoon congregation concluded and