More than 100 people killed in crowd crush at Hindu religious gathering in northern India

While the cause was not immediately clear, Hathras district administrator Ashish Kumar suggested it may have been "due to overcrowding at the time when people were trying to leave the venue".

Relatives and volunteers carry bodies on stretchers at the Sikandrarao hospital in the Hathras district. Source: AAP / Manoj Aligadi

At least 116 people were killed in a stampede at a Hindu religious gathering in northern India, authorities said, in one of the country's worst such tragedies in years.

The background: The stampede happened in a village in Hathras district in Uttar Pradesh, where authorities said thousands had gathered in sweltering late afternoon temperatures.

The stampede occurred when a crowd of devotees started pushing towards the stage to touch the preacher, said Yogi Adityanath, chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.

The stampede occurred as the event concluded and attendees were trying to exit, with the narrow exit leading to a deadly crush of the large crowd. Source: Getty / Stringer

The key quote: "There was wet mud at one place where people may have slipped. Also because of the heat, people may have made their way to the spot where water was kept and that could have caused the incident as well." — senior state official Chaitra V

What else to know: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the federal government was assisting the state and announced a compensation of 200,000 rupees to the families of the dead and 50,000 rupees to those injured.

What happens now: Police said they had launched an investigation and that the gathering may have been larger than was permitted.

READ MORE: At least 12 people dead after stampede at Hindu shrine in Indian-controlled Kashmir