World
Death toll climbs to 116 in religious gathering stampede in India
Thousands of people at a religious gathering in India rushed to leave a makeshift tent, setting off a stampede Tuesday that killed more than 100 and left scores injured, officials said.
It was not immediately clear what triggered the panic following an event with a Hindu guru known locally as Bhole Baba. Local news reports cited authorities who said heat and suffocation in the tent could have been a factor. Video of the aftermath showed the structure appeared to have collapsed.
At least 116 people died, most of them women and children, said Prashant Kumar, the director-general of police in northern India’s state of Uttar Pradesh, where the stampede occurred.
AT LEAST 60 DEAD AFTER STAMPEDE AT RELIGIOUS GATHERING IN NORTHERN INDIA
More than 80 others were injured and admitted to hospitals, senior police officer Shalabh Mathur said.
“People started falling one upon another, one upon another. Those who were crushed died. People there pulled them out,” witness Shakuntala Devi told the Press Trust of India news agency.
Relatives wailed in distress as bodies of the dead, placed on stretchers and covered in white sheets, lined the grounds of a local hospital. A bus that arrived there carried more victims, whose bodies were lying on the seats inside.
Deadly stampedes are relatively common around Indian religious festivals, where large crowds gather in small areas with shoddy infrastructure and few safety measures.
Police officer Rajesh Singh said there was likely overcrowding at the event in a village in Hathras district about 220 miles southwest of the state capital, Lucknow.
Initial reports said organizers had permission to host about 5,000 people, but more than 15,000 came for the event by the Hindu preacher, who used to be a police officer in the state before he left his job to give religious sermons. He has led other such gatherings over the last two decades.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered condolences to the families of the dead and said the federal government was working with state authorities to ensure the injured received help.
Uttar Pradesh’s chief minister, Yogi Adityanath, called the stampede “heart-wrenching” in a post on X. He said authorities were investigating.
“Look what happened and how many people have lost their lives. Will anyone be accountable?” Rajesh Kumar Jha, a member of parliament, told reporters. He said the stampede was a failure by the state and federal governments to manage large crowds, adding that “people will keep on dying” if authorities do not take safety protocols seriously enough.
In 2013, pilgrims visiting a temple for a popular Hindu festival in central Madhya Pradesh state trampled each other amid fears that a bridge would collapse. At least 115 were crushed to death or died in the river.
In 2011, more than 100 Hindu devotees died in a crush at a religious festival in the southern state of Kerala.
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Australian girl, 12, killed by crocodile while swimming in creek
Australian authorities discovered the remains of a 12-year-old girl Thursday after she was reportedly snatched by a crocodile while swimming in a creek.
Police Senior Sgt. Erica Gibson told reporters, “It was an extremely difficult, essentially 36 hours, difficult for the first responders involved in the search.”
The child’s disappearance began a nearly two-day search by land, air and water.
Her remains were discovered near the river where the girl had gone missing, southwest of the Northern Territory capital Darwin, in the Indigenous community of Palumpa.
Sgt. Gibson confirmed that the girl’s injuries were from a crocodile attack, saying “The recovery has been made. It was particularly gruesome and a sad, devastating outcome.”
AUSTRALIAN FAMILY DISCOVERS VENOMOUS SNAKE IN CHILD’S BED
“However, for the family, it is the most devastating outcome possible for them. They are in a state of extreme shock and disbelief,” Gibson added.
Saltwater crocodiles are known to be territorial and the killer reptile may still be in nearby waterways. They are known to be a general risk in the Northern Territory, according to The Associated Press.
SLY ALLIGATOR LURKING UNDER PUBLIX SHOPPING CARTS CAUGHT ON VIDEO IN SOUTH CAROLINA
Northern Australia is a tropical climate, supporting a boom in saltwater crocodile populations since populations have been conserved under Australian law beginning in the 1970s.
The population of large crocodiles is on the rise in Northern Australia, with some reptiles reaching up to 23 feet long. The animals grow throughout their lives, and crocodiles can live up to around 70 years of age.
Sgt. Gibson told reporters that the search efforts for the killer crocodile are still underway.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
World
Remains of destroyed Kharkiv stadium exhibited in Berlin
The joy of the European Championship exists parallel to the suffering caused by Russia’s war of aggression, says Bärbel Bas, President of the German Bundestag.
Remains of the Sonyachny Stadium from Kharkiv, damaged by Russian missiles, have found a new temporary home in Berlin.
German Bundestag President Bärbel Bas and Ukrainian Ambassador Oleksii Makeiev unveiled the interactive installation by the Ukrainian Association of Football in front of the German Parliament building.
The stand includes an interactive installation with the story of Sonyachny. Using virtual reality, it’s possible to experience the stadium in real-time, seeing its current state.
The damaged tribune was first displayed in Munich, where the Ukrainian team has played their first match at this year’s euros against Romania. The team has since been knocked out of the tournament.
Kharkiv was one of four Ukrainian host cities for the Euros in 2012. In 2022, the stadium on display was destroyed by Russian attacks.
So far, 500 sports facilities in Ukraine, including 77 football stadiums, have been damaged or destroyed by Russian bomb and missile attacks.
Speaking to the press, Bas emphasized how this project communicates a message of duality: the joy of the European Championship exists in parallel to the suffering caused by Russia’s war of aggression.
She also expressed her support for the Ukrainian people.
“Today is the 19th day of the European Championship in Germany. That corresponds to the number of days in June alone on which air strikes were launched in Kharkiv. 468 hours. 19.5 days. In this sense, this stand is a memorial – a reminder that not far from here Russia is committing genocide on a daily basis, from which even soccer is not immune,” Ambassador Makeiv told journalists.
‘Peace has a price’
The damaged stand was first exhibited in Munich, where the Ukrainian team played its first match at this year’s European Championships against Romania. The Ukrainian team lost the game 3-0.
The stand then travelled with the team to Düsseldorf where it was again put on display.
After three games resulting in a loss, a win and a draw, the Ukrainian team was eliminated from the tournament.
During the team’s last match in Stuttgart against Belgium, Ukrainian fans sent a sign. From the stands, they held a banner with the words “Peace has a price” along with a portrait of fallen soldier and football fan Nazariy Hryntsevich.
The image of Hryntsevich was created using artificial intelligence (AI) and the photos of 182 other fallen Ukrainian soldiers, all of whom were known to be avid fans of their local soccer clubs.
If the circumstances had been different, they would probably have been at the games in person or supporting their team in front of the TV. Instead, their static images radiate emotion and resilience.
Watch more in the player above.
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