At least 11 people were killed following a crush outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium which was hosting a parade celebrating Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL title win.
Virat Kohli and RCB secured their first ever IPL crown in 18 seasons on Tuesday after beating Punjab Kings in the final in Ahmedabad.
A parade was then arranged at short notice with tens of thousands of fans lining the streets of Bengaluru on Wednesday, up to the stadium in the heart of the city.
According to state chief minister Siddaramaiah, at least 11 people had died in the crush, with 47 injured. “No one expected such a huge crowd,” Siddaramaiah said. “The stadium has a capacity of only 35,000 people, but 200,000-300,000 people came.”
Images showed emergency services carrying the injured to nearby hospital, with several videos on social media showing large crowd jostling at the entry gates of the stadium hours before the start of the victory celebrations.
The RCB team continued with their victory celebrations while news of the enormity of the tragedy began to emerge.
Earlier, reports came in of the parade facing administrative hurdles with local officials and law enforcement making last-minute arrangements for the huge crowd expected on the streets at short notice.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered condolences to the victims' families.
"The mishap in Bengaluru is absolutely heartrending. In this tragic hour, my thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that those who are injured have a speedy recovery," PM Modi said in a statement.
Deputy Chief Minister of the state of Karnataka DK Shivakumar said he was saddened by the tragedy.
“The tragedy and death have brought deep pain and shock. My condolences to the deceased. My condolences to their family,” Shivakumar said in a post on X.
PC Mohan, a member of Parliament from Bengaluru offered his condolence on social media to the families of the deceased.
Deputy CM Shivakumar said he will meet the injured at the hospital.
“I have spoken to the police commissioner and everyone, I will also go to the hospital later”, he told reporters.
Meanwhile, IPL chairman Arun Dhumal said organisers at the stadium had not been told about the tragedy.
“At the time of the celebrations inside the stadium officials there did not know what had happened. I would like to send my heartfelt condolences”, Dhumal told NDTV.
“This is a very sad incident,” Rajeev Shukla, vice-president of the BCCI, told India Today news outlet. “No one imagined that such a huge crowd would turn up.”
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said the situations could have been avoided. "It is very unfortunate. This is a negative side of popularity," he was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.
"The organisers should have planned it better. My deepest condolences to the family of the deceased. I wish early recovery of the injured.
"When one organises a victory celebration of this magnitude, proper precautions, safety and security measures need to be taken. There have been some lapses somewhere."
Questions are now being raised about the timing of the parade, organisation of local authorities and also the decision by the RCB team and organisers to not stop the ceremony even after it became clear that there was crowd trouble around the venue.
