‘People were running, falling and climbing over each other’: Survivors recount horror

An inconsolable Raj Kumar Saini from Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, waited outside the district hospital in Haridwar with a constantly ringing phone as he attempted to gather courage to inform his family about his younger brother Vicky Saini who lost his life in the stampede.

- Sandeep Rawat

Recounting the moments that led to their separation, Raj said that hundreds of devotees were moving in opposite directions, some climbing up for darshan, others descending after paying obeisance. “Suddenly, there was a rush. People began running in both directions. In the confusion, I lost sight of my brother and barely managed to escape myself,” he said.

Other survivors and eyewitnesses of Sunday's stampede described similar scenes of fear, confusion, and desperation they felt during the stampede which claimed six lives.

Santosh Kumar, a devotee from Bihar, told reporters that the crowd had become tightly packed, with people unable to move forward or backward.

“There were electric wires on the wall, and some people tried to climb using them for support. This caused the wire to snap,” he said. Panic ensued, as rumours of electrocution spread, prompting people to trample over one another in a bid to escape. “I somehow managed to survive. Five of our family members got separated. We've found three, but we're still searching for the other two,” he said.