At least 11 people died and dozens were injured in a stampede outside Bengaluru's M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday as massive crowds gathered to celebrate Royal Challengers Bengaluru's first-ever Indian Premier League victory.
The tragedy unfolded when hundreds of thousands of cricket fans converged on the stadium to welcome home their team following Tuesday night's six-run victory over Punjab Kings.
Karnataka state Chief Minister Siddaramaiah confirmed that 11 people had died and 33 were injured in the crush, whilst another report cited 47 injured.
Authorities were forced to cancel a planned victory parade as the situation spiralled out of control.
The large crowds celebrating Royal Challengers Bengaluru's first-ever Indian Premier League victory turned deadly
Reuters
Police struggled to manage the enormous crowds that vastly exceeded expectations.
"The stadium has a capacity of only 35,000 people, but 200,000-300,000 people came," Siddaramaiah told reporters.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said police were "finding it very difficult" to control the situation.
Broadcasters showed officers rushing away from crowds carrying young children who had seemingly fainted, whilst one young man was seen sitting in an ambulance struggling to breathe.
"This is not a controllable crowd," Shivakumar said.
The sheer volume of fans who turned out to celebrate their team's historic first IPL title in 18 years overwhelmed authorities despite the entire city police force being deployed.
Government officials expressed deep remorse over the tragedy. "I apologise to the people of Karnataka and Bengaluru," Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said.
"We wanted to take a procession, but the crowd was very uncontrollable... the crowd was so much."
Police struggled to contain the crowd
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Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the tragedy had "erased the joy of victory" and ordered an inquiry into the deaths.
"This tragedy should not have happened, we are with the victims," he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the incident "absolutely heartrending". IPL chairman Arun Dhumal said stadium organisers had not been informed about the stampede until later, adding: "I would like to send my heartfelt condolences."
The celebrations had been organised to honour Royal Challengers Bengaluru's first IPL championship in the tournament's 18-year history.
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Royal Challengers Bengaluru were celebrating their first-ever Indian Premier League victory
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The team, featuring batting legend Virat Kohli, had defeated Punjab Kings 190-184 in Tuesday night's final at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium.
Despite the unfolding tragedy, organisers initially pressed ahead with celebrations inside the stadium.
The team's social media account posted videos of cheering crowds, captioning it: "This welcome is what pure love looks like."
Deadly crowd incidents occur frequently at Indian mass gatherings due to poor crowd management and safety lapses.
A stampede at January's Kumbh Mela religious festival killed 30 people, whilst 121 died at a Hindu religious gathering in Uttar Pradesh last July.
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