‘People were running amok and falling’: Survivors recount chaos

“People were running in both directions. In the confusion, I lost sight of my brother and barely managed to escape,” an inconsolable Raj Kumar Saini said as he recounted the crush outside the Mansa Devi Temple in Uttara-khand’s Haridwar that claimed the lives of eight, including his younger brother Vicky.

- Sandeep Rawat

Saini, a resident of Rampur in Uttar Pradesh, waited outside the district hospital with his phone constantly ringing as he attempted to gather courage to inform his family about his brother's death.

Speaking about the incident, he revealed that several devotees were moving in opposite directions —some climbing up to pay obeisance, others descending after it. “Suddenly, there was a rush,” he said.

Other survivors and witnesses of Sunday's stampede described similar scenes of fear, confusion, and desperation they felt during the incident.