
Crowd crush outside Bengaluru cricket stadium kills at least 11, injures dozens
Eleven people have died in a stampede outside a cricket stadium in the Indian city of Bengaluru. Local officials say 47 others were injured. The stampede came after tens of thousands of fans gathered for a victory event to mark the first-ever Indian Premier League title win for the city's team, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The state government said that such a huge crowd was unexpected. Neha Poonia reports.
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CNA
17 hours ago
- CNA
Indian police detain four after deadly cricket stampede
BENGALURU: Indian police Friday (Jun 6) detained four people including a senior executive at Royal Challengers Bengaluru, after 11 fans were crushed to death during celebrations for the team's first IPL title. Hundreds of thousands packed the streets in the southern city of Bengaluru on Wednesday to welcome home their hero Virat Kohli and his RCB cricket team after they beat Punjab Kings in the final of the Indian Premier League. But the euphoria of the vast crowds ended in disaster with a stampede near M Chinnaswamy Stadium, where the players were parading the trophy. Karnataka state's Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said Friday he had directed police to arrest the representatives of RCB, event organisers DNA, and Karnataka State Cricket Association. Police brought Nikhil Sosale, a senior RCB official, and three other representatives of DNA before a judge in Bengaluru, an AFP journalist saw. All four were later arrested and sent to 14-day judicial custody, broadcaster NDTV reported. Siddaramaiah had earlier said a first information report, which marks the start of a police investigation, had been "registered against them". The deaths have sparked widespread anger, and top police officers including the city's police commissioner have been suspended. Local media reported that the accusations include culpable homicide, not amounting to murder, among others. There was no immediate comment from RCB. 'Made to pay' Siddaramaiah, who only uses one name, also pointed the finger at some senior police. "These officers appear to be irresponsible and negligent and it has been decided to suspend them," he said. The dead were aged between 14 and 29, and were among a sea of people who had poured onto the streets to catch a glimpse of their heroes. RCB offered financial aid of US$11,655 to each family of the victims, calling the deaths "unfortunate". Indian media have widely reported the team earned US$2.3 million in prize money alone for taking the title. Kohli, who top-scored in the final, said he was "at a loss for words" after the celebrations of a first IPL crown turned to tragedy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the accident "absolutely heartrending". Siddaramaiah has said that the stadium had a capacity of 35,000 people "but 200,000-300,000 people came". Deadly crowd incidents are a frequent occurrence at Indian mass events, such as religious festivals, due to poor crowd management and safety lapses. "The grim truth is that the fan, who drives the commerce of every sport, is the last priority for administrators," The Hindu newspaper wrote in its editorial on Friday. "Asphyxia was the primary cause of death besides injuries suffered in the stifling rush," it added. The pioneering IPL sold its broadcast rights in 2022 for five seasons to global media giants for an eye-popping US$6.2 billion, putting it up amongst the highest-ranked sport leagues in cost-per-match terms. "The world's richest cricket tournament can't cut corners when it comes to fans' safety," the Indian Express newspaper wrote in an editorial.


CNA
17 hours ago
- CNA
Chess-Carlsen puts meltdown behind him to win Norway Chess tournament
Chess great Magnus Carlsen recovered from his meltdown against world champion Gukesh Dommaraju last weekend to win the Norway Chess tournament on Friday. The Norwegian world number one drew his last game against India's Arjun Erigaisi but it proved enough for him to finish on 16 points, half a point ahead of American Fabiano Caruana. Indian Gukesh, who lost to Caruana in the final game, ended up third on 14.5 points. "It's a huge relief after a day like this, a tournament like this," Carlsen said. Last Sunday, Carlsen had Gukesh on the ropes for much of their game but his composure cracked under the pressure of a ticking clock and he committed a blunder that handed Gukesh a decisive advantage. Carlsen slammed his fist on the table after the defeat before exchanging a quick handshake with Gukesh, apologising for his outburst and storming off. "Obviously my struggles here have been well documented but at least I fought until the end," the five-time classical world champion, who did not defend his title in 2023 citing a lack of motivation, said. "I'm not going to say that this tournament was my last (in standard chess) for sure, but I enjoy other forms of chess a lot more."


CNA
a day ago
- CNA
Bengaluru stampede: Police arrest at least 2 people linked to incident
Indian police have reportedly arrested at least two people following the deadly stampede during a cricket celebration in Bengaluru on Jun 4. Eleven people died and close to 50 were injured in the crush. Rebecca Bundhun reports from Mumbai.