BENGALURU, India: At least six people died on Wednesday (Jun 4) in a crowd surge outside a cricket stadium in the Indian city of Bengaluru where fans were celebrating Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s first Indian Premier League title win, authorities said.
Local media put the death toll higher at between seven and 11, with about 50 injured.
“It is deeply painful and shocking that people who were supposed to witness RCB’s IPL victory celebrations have died in the tragedy,” the local Karnataka state’s Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar posted on X.
Thousands of people, some waving the home team’s red flag, lined streets around the Chinnaswamy Stadium as the team arrived in a bus in the evening, TV channels showed, with some climbing trees and the stadium wall for a better view.
As the celebration proceeded inside, there was a melee outside among a cramped crowd, with some people climbing over others to move ahead, images from the scene showed.
The deaths and injuries happened at gates where people without passes were denied entry and tried to push in, police said, and in the area between the perimeter and main arena.
One policeman carried an injured spectator to an ambulance, while people gathered around another lying seemingly unconscious on the ground. Visuals also showed some men on the floor being given CPR while police caned young men to disperse them.
A senior official from the government-run Bowring Hospital, where some victims were taken, told Reuters six people had died.
UNCONTROLLABLE CROWD
Naseer Ahmed, political secretary for the Karnataka chief minister, told broadcaster NDTV that the crowd had become uncontrollable and authorities were unable to make proper arrangements.
The team had given away free passes for the event through its website but also warned that numbers would be limited.
Bengaluru metro stopped services near the stadium, where the ceremony continued despite the turmoil outside.
India is familiar with crowd accidents, mainly at religious events. At least 30 people died at the Maha Kumbh Hindu festival in January as tens of millions gathered to dip in sacred waters.
Bengaluru were celebrating beating Punjab Kings in the T20 tournament’s final match in the 18th edition of the IPL, the world’s richest cricket league.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/people-dead-stampede-outside-india-bengaluru-cricket-stadium-5165911
