At least three people are feared dead and at least a dozen injured after a stampede broke out outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium during Royal Challengers Bengaluru's victory celebration on Wednesday. Many of the injured have been shifted to Bowring Hospital, and the condition of some is said to be critical.
At least three of the fifteen people rushed to Vydehi Superspeciality Hospital on Vittal Mallya Road were declared dead by doctors, Deccan Herald reported. It is said that hospitals are being overwhelmed as ambulances are shuttling between the stadium and emergency wards with injured fans.
Thousands of people, waving the team's red flag, lined the streets leading up to the Chinnaswamy Stadium in the heart of the city as the cricket team arrived at the venue in a bus in the evening, television channels showed. Visuals after the stampede showed a policeman carrying an injured spectator to an ambulance, while people gathered around a second person who lay seemingly unconscious on the ground. Some other visuals showed a few of those who were in an unconscious state being administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) by those nearby. Police had a tough time in crowd management as a large number of cricket enthusiasts tried to gain entry, at the same time, into the stadium.
A celebration event was planned at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, the home ground of RCB, after the Karnataka government decided against organising an open-bus victory parade through the city due to traffic congestion and security risks. The gates of the stadium did not open on time, causing a stampede-like situation, according to some reports.
Meanwhile, videos on the internet showed fans scaling the fenced walls of the stadium to enter its premises. Entry to the event was limited to those with tickets.
While a large number of fans gathered for the felicitation organised by the Karnataka State Cricket Association, visuals showed police shifting injured persons and those who had fallen unconscious to nearby hospitals.
