A day after 121 people were crushed to death at a religious event in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, families of some of the victims are still searching for their loved ones.
The incident took place during a satsang (a Hindu religious festival) organised by a self-styled preacher called Bhole Baba. Police said that massive overcrowding at the venue in Hathras district led to Tuesday's crush – they have registered a case against the event's main organisers.
It's one of the worst such tragedies for many years in India, where accidents involving large crowds are often blamed on lax safety measures and crowd management. On Wednesday, a large number of policemen were present as politicians visited the site to find out how the tragedy unfolded.
Dozens of workers were busy removing the sprawling tent from the event venue, about 500 metres from the main road. Two colourful arches bearing the name and photograph of the self-styled guru stood at the entrance and exit.
Early morning rain had drenched the place and large pools of water made it difficult to walk around. The organisers had laid a brick path, leading to the main stage. It was strewn with clothes and shoes of victims – a painful reminder of the many lives lost.
Officials said most of the dead and injured were women.
Yogesh Yadav, who lives in the neighbourhood, was one of the first to rush to the site.
“After the prayer meeting was over, Bhole Baba was leaving. Hundreds of women ran after his car to pick up the soil underneath the tyres of the vehicle as a way of seeking his blessing,” he told the BBC.
“Some crossed the highway to get a better glimpse of his car. In the melee, many women fell in the drain adjacent to the highway. People started falling on top of each other,” Mr Yadav said.
According to the first information report (FIR) lodged by the police, authorities had given permission for 80,000 people to gather for the event. But around 250,000 people turned up to attend it. Eyewitnesses told the BBC that there wasn't enough security to manage such a huge crowd.
At the main hospital in the nearby city of Aligarh, we saw dozens of people waiting to receive the bodies of their loved ones. One man said he had come to look for his aunt who had been missing since Tuesday afternoon.
Hridesh Kumar was sitting outside the mortuary and wailing unconsolably.
“My wife Sarva Devi came with our two children to the prayer meeting with some of our relatives. My uncle and children were not injured. But my wife was killed in the crush,” he said.
“How will I look after my children without her? My whole life has turned upside down.”
Not much is known about the preacher, but locals said he was hugely popular in the district. As we drove to the site of the accident, we saw several posters and billboards of him on both sides of the road.
Police say he runs an organisation called the Ram Kutir Charitable Trust, which was also the main organiser of Tuesday's event. Accidents are routinely reported at religious events in India, as huge crowds gather in small spaces with little to no safety measures.
In 2018, around 60 people were killed after a train rammed into a crowd watching celebrations for Dusshera, a Hindu festival.
In 2013, a crush at a Hindu festival in the central state of Madhya Pradesh had killed 115 people.
— CutC by bbc.com
