Hathras stampede: Health centre with just 1 doctor and 3 nurses got swamped with injured

AGRA: It was like a normal day at Sikandararau community health centre (CHC) in Hathras district until Tuesday afternoon, but suddenly everything changed, with bodies and injured people arriving in tempos, e-rickshaws, loaders, buses and a few ambulances. First the ward, then the veranda and then the entire field outside the hospital was filled with injured people and corpses.
There were three nurses, a ward boy, a pharmacist and a doctor on duty to treat so many people. To add to the misery, there were just 3 oxygen cylinders. In such a situation, let alone treatment, the doctor could not even check who was alive and who was dead. It was a scary scene, and a nurse fainted on seeing so many corpses.
Dr Manoj Katara said, "I have never seen so many corpses or such a scene. On Tuesday afternoon, 3 nurses, a ward boy, a pharmacist, a sweeper and I were on duty."
At 2:40 pm, a man arrived with 3 children covered in mud. No family member was with them. "When the police station was informed, the station in-charge said 'a big incident has happened. Be alert. I am also at the spot'," said a hospital staff member.
Outside Sikandararau CHC, corpses were scattered all around, with grieving relatives near them. No sheets were there to cover the corpses. "There were no oxygen cylinders and no one was there who could administer drips. We dragged people and brought them here, they were still breathing. We kept waiting for the doctor. Most of the injured died for want of timely treatment," said Veerpal Yadav, who lost his aunt.
"All the stretchers in the hospital and benches were used to lay down the injured. When there was no space left, the injured and the dead were laid on the ground. Videos that have surfaced show people giving CPR to their loved ones. Some were seen running around in a state of shock, as there was no one to help," said Sahil Bharti, a local resident.