India Emerges As Crowd Accident Hotspot, Says Study

India is rapidly emerging as a hotspot for crowd accidents, with religious festivals as the most likely situation resulting in dangerous crashes, according to a study published in the journal ‘Safety Science’.

The study found that almost 70 per cent of the accidents which occurred in India were between the year 2000 to 2019 relating to religious events.

The journal includes the most comprehensive database of deaths and injuries caused by crowd accidents ever compiled with the hope to improve safety at mass gatherings across the world.

According to the researchers, 281 major global incidents occurred between 1900 and 2019 that resulted in at least one death, or 10 people being injured.

They further said many of those accidents occurred close to rivers or in areas near water frequently occurring over the bridge. However, the railway stations or transportation terminals have also often been the aftermath of disasters in the region, the researchers added.

Commenting on the matter, Milad Haghani from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Australia said, the larger number of accidents in India linked to religious festivals, is mostly due to financial constraints.

Meanwhile, apart from India, South-East Asia and the Middle East region also recorded numerous deadly incidents.