What led to Bengaluru stampede at RCB victory event
What's the story
A stampede outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday left 11 dead and nearly 50 injured. The incident occurred as thousands of fans thronged the stadium to celebrate Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) historic first-ever Indian Premier League (IPL) title win after 18 years. Eyewitnesses described a chaotic scene with many collapsing in panic, while others were trampled underfoot.
Event chaos
Situation worsened as fans tried to get inside stadium
According to NDTV, passes were given out at first. But since not many people had passes, when it was announced that everyone could come in, there was a massive rush when the gates opened. Grabbing the opportunity, people from all sides tried to enter through the narrow entryway. Police claimed over 50,000 people had gathered within a 1-kilometer radius of the stadium. The stampede began at that point.
Witness reports
The crowd was beyond our control: Police
Initially, people were injured and squeezed, but because of the size of the crowd, barricades got overturned, trapping those nearby and stepping on them. The stadium can accommodate 35,000 people, but police believe between 2,00,000 and 3,00,000 people showed up there. By 3:30pm, the throng had gotten so big that the police had to seal all the gates. "The crowd was beyond our control. Even though we had deployed force, it was too much," a senior police officer told HT.
Official response
RCB announced limited free passes online
"The problem was that the stadium gates were narrow, and the pressure of the crowd caused the tragedy," the official added. Another reason was the conflicting announcements for the event. In the morning, the Bengaluru traffic police said that there would be no victory parade, simply a celebration inside the stadium. But at 3:14pm, the RCB management announced that there would be a procession at 5:00pm, followed by celebrations. The RCB X account had also announced limited free passes online.
Inquiry
Inquiry ordered
"In the morning, we were told that passes could be purchased. Later, we were told they were being distributed at the stadium. So like me, many landed up here hoping to get a pass," Rakesh Prakash, who was at the stadium, told HT. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah expressed "deep sorrow" over the incident and ordered a magisterial inquiry. He said, "I don't want to defend this incident. Our government will not do politics on this."