At least 121 people dead, over 150 injured in India stampede

The death toll from a crush at a religious gathering in Uttar Pradesh, northern India, has increased to 121, making it one of the deadliest such disasters in over a decade.

The incident took place during a satsang (a Hindu religious festival) in Hathras district on Tuesday.

Police say the number of people present at the venue was three times the permitted limit and most of those who died or were injured were women.

A case has been registered against the event’s organisers.

The tragedy has sparked outrage in India and has led to questions about lapses in safety measures.

Authorities had given permission for 80,000 people to gather but around 250,000 people attended the event, according to the first information report lodged by the police.

Chaos broke out at the end of the event as the preacher was about to leave in his car.

The police report said thousands of devotees ran towards his vehicle and began collecting dust from the path in an act of devotion.

As crowds swelled, several of those sitting and squatting on the ground got crushed.

The document added that some people tried running to a patch of mud-filled fields across the road but were forcibly stopped by the organisers and were crushed.

Police have registered a case against a man who they say was the event’s main organiser and a few others on several charges, including culpable homicide.

Some videos showed the injured being taken to hospitals in pick-up trucks, tuk tuks and even motorbikes.

Other clips showed distraught family members screaming outside a local hospital as they tried to find their loved ones among rows of bodies left at the entrance.