"Only one doctor, no oxygen"

Bodies lay scattered at the Sikandara Rao Trauma Centre in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district on Tuesday as people milled around them, wiping away tears and consoling one another.

That is where the victims, dead or unconscious, of the stampede were brought in ambulances, trucks and cars.

A woman sat crying among five or six bodies in a truck, urging people to help her get the body of her daughter out of the vehicle. A video clip showed a man and a woman lying lifeless in a different vehicle.

Many of the injured were seen lying near the entrance of the local government hospital surrounded by anxious relatives. Locals blamed the administration’s negligence for the tragedy.

As the hours went by, the official estimate of the fatalities jumped and the crowds outside the trauma centre and the mortuary swelled.

“There are almost 100-200 casualties and there was only one doctor at the hospital. There was no facility for oxygen. Some are still breathing but there are no proper treatment facilities,” an agitated youth said outside the hospital.

Speaking to media persons, DM Ashish Kumar said it was a private function for which the permission was granted by the sub-divisional magistrate. The local administration provided security outside the venue while the internal arrangement was to be looked after by the organisers, he added.

The Uttar Pradesh government said an FIR will be registered against the organisers of the programme.