IPL's Bengaluru pledge financial aid for victims of crowd surge
BENGALURU, India, June 5 (Reuters) - Indian Premier League franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru have pledged one million Indian rupees ($11,654) to each family of the 11 fans who died in a crowd surge outside the team's home stadium on Wednesday during celebrations following their maiden IPL title.
The franchise will also launch a support fund for the injured. At least 11 people died and 47 were injured in the crowd surge as thousands of people lined the streets around the Chinnaswamy Stadium as the team's bus arrived.
Bengaluru were celebrating their win over Punjab Kings in the final of the IPL's 18th edition, the world's richest T20 cricket league. The team had given away free passes for the event on their website but said that numbers would be limited.
As the celebrations continued, some fans without passes tried to push through the gates while others climbed trees and the stadium wall for a better view. Images from the scene showed people climbing over each other.
"The unfortunate incident in Bengaluru yesterday has caused a lot of anguish and pain to the RCB family," the team said in a statement on Thursday.
"As a mark of respect and a gesture of solidarity, RCB has announced a financial support of 10 lakh (one million) Indian Rupees to each of the 11 families of the deceased.
"In addition, a fund called RCB Cares is also being created to support fans injured in this tragic incident."
Karnataka State Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who uses only one name, said the venue could not handle the size of the crowd, adding that the stadium's capacity was 35,000 but 200,000 to 300,000 people had turned up for the celebrations.
"In the wake of the tragic stampede during RCB's victory celebrations, the Karnataka Government will bear the full medical expenses of all those injured, whether admitted in government or private hospitals," Siddaramaiah said in a statement on Thursday.
"Orders have been issued to the Health Department and Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust (SAST) to ensure this without delay."
($1 = 85.8010 Indian rupees)
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