Cricket fans in India were celebrating their team's win. A stampede turned that joy into tragedy
BENGALURU, India (AP) — A sea of cricket crazy fans were packed inside the Indian stadium, celebrating a long-awaited victory of their favorite team. Outside, more crowds were pushing at the gates, hoping to catch a glimpse of their cherished cricket stars.
The turnout of the crowd was far more than expected. Tens of thousands tried to force their way inside.
Then tragedy struck.
Panic and a chaotic run toward the stadium gates turned into a deadly crowd crush in India's southern Bengaluru city Wednesday, leaving at least 11 people dead and more than 30 others injured. Most of the victims, including young students, were trampled upon or suffocated after getting caught in crowds that swelled beyond control.
The stampede was yet another incident of a crowd crush in a country where poor crowd management often leads to accidents. It also underscored that passion for cricket stars in India — where fans of the game closely follow the players' every move — can easily turn deadly if crowds are not managed properly.
The incident took place when crowds outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium began swarming into the premises, where state authorities were celebrating the Royal Challengers Bengaluru cricket team. The team had on Tuesday finally won the final of the Indian Premier League — the world's most popular T20 cricket tournament — after 18 years. Joyful crowds had poured into the city streets all night.
By late afternoon on Wednesday, tens of thousands began moving toward the stadium. City police later said around 50,000 people had gathered within the stadium's 1-kilometre radius, and more crowds were continuing to stream in.
Some fans scaled over stadium gates and outer walls. Others tried to break the metal gates. Soon, people began falling on each other.
B.V. Shivkumar's 14-year old daughter, Divyanshi Shivakumar, was with her mother and aunt. The three women approached the gate, but fans jostling to enter the stadium caused them to collide with each other, Shivkumar said. Then a crush followed.
Divyanshi suffered head injuries. Her mother and aunt rushed her to the hospital, where she later died.
'My wife begged the police and everyone there, but nobody helped,' Shivkumar, who uses only one name, said at his Bengaluru home, surrounded by relatives who were there to offer condolences.
Shivkumar said he was particularly incensed by the fact that while people were getting caught in a crush outside, the ceremony inside the stadium continued.
'Who cares about the people's loss?' he asked.
Cricket is followed by hundreds of millions of people in India, where it draws record television and digital viewership. For decades, it has also been a crucial part of India's global brand. For many fans, catching a glimpse of their favorite cricketer is no less than a dream come true, even if it means risking their lives.
Karnataka state's Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who only uses one name, said at least 200,000 cricket fans were out on the city streets on Wednesday, at least four times more than what authorities had expected. His deputy, D.K. Shivakumar, said that 5,000 police officers had been deployed to provide security, but the 'young, vibrant crowd' grew 'uncontrollable.'
'This tragedy has overshadowed the joy of the victory,' he said on social platform X.
The incident has since turned into a political tug-of-war, with opposition parties raising questions about hasty arrangements. India's cricket management authorities have said they did not know who planned the event and that players inside the stadium were not aware of the crush until they began receiving phone calls.
Meanwhile, India's top cricketers and franchise teams have shared their condolences. The tournament's biggest star player, Virat Kohli, wrote on Instagram: 'At a loss for words. Absolutely gutted.'
Families of the victims are grappling with a sense of disbelief and anger as to how a scene of celebration spiraled into a tragedy.
Divyanshi's father said authorities should have prepared better so that lives lost could have been saved.
'It's the parents who will suffer now,' he said.
——
Saaliq reported from New Delhi.
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