Kolkata stampede: Victims had ruptured organs, most suffocated to death
What's the story
Preliminary autopsy reports of the 19 victims who died in a stampede at Kolkata's Chorbagan Durga Puja pandal have pointed to traumatic asphyxia caused by chest compression as the likely cause of death for most of the 19 people. The report states that most victims died due to chest compression, which led to suffocation. Some victims also suffered severe internal injuries, including rupture of organs, like the lungs, stomach, liver and pancreas.
Incident details
Final post-mortem reports awaited
"In at least six cases, fractured ribs had penetrated the lungs, apparently due to intense compression in the packed crowd," an official was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
The definitive causes of the deaths will be established only after the final post-mortem reports are released.
The post-mortem examinations of 18 victims were conducted at Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital, while one was conducted at Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital.
Eyewitness
Sudden rainfall may have triggered the stampede
Eyewitnesses reported that sudden rainfall on October 17 may have triggered the stampede.
People inside the pandal waited for the rain to stop while those outside tried to push in, causing overcrowding.
A police officer had earlier told PTI that neither the gate nor the approach road was wide enough to handle this sudden rush of people.
Post-incident actions
7 people arrested in wake of tragedy
In the wake of the tragedy, Kolkata Police have arrested seven people, including the secretary and vice president of the puja's organizing committee.
A video of a public announcement warning about a possible collapse of the temporary structure is also under investigation.
As of Monday, 10 of the 14 injured were discharged.
"Of the four still undergoing treatment, two are in the ICU, one...in the high-dependency unit, and one...in the general ward," an official of Apollo Multispeciality Hospitals Kolkata said.