Death toll in mass panic at religious gathering in northern India rises to 121

At least 121 people, most of them women, have been confirmed to have died in a stampede at a religious gathering in northern India, a minister in the state of Uttar Pradesh said on Wednesday.

Thousands of people gathered on Tuesday for a prayer meeting and sermon organized by a local guru in a tent near a highway in Hathras district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Eyewitnesses reported that people suddenly rushed out of the crowded venue as the guru left, with many slipping and falling into a ditch filled with mud and water.

Most of the deaths were caused by suffocation and trampling, a local government official said.

Sandeep Singh, Uttar Pradesh’s education minister, said 121 people had died so far. “The investigation has begun and whoever is responsible will be punished,” he added.

Among the victims were over 100 women and at least seven children. Police are searching for the self-proclaimed guru Bhole Baba, who organized the event on Tuesday.

According to news channel NDTV, investigators and sniffer dogs were seen working on Wednesday in an open, muddy field where around 150,000 people had gathered for the event.

Sandals, slippers, pieces of clothing and a baby milk bottle were still scattered on the floor.

At least 35 people were being treated for serious injuries in local hospitals, the Office of the State Relief Commissioner said in a statement.