- At least 19 killed and 25 injured in Kolkata Durga Puja stampede
- Seven-year-old girl among the dead
- Sudden rain and an announcement sparked the crush outside a pandal
- Police examining CCTV footage over crowd control failures
AT LEAST 19 people were killed and 25 injured in a stampede at a Durga Puja celebration in Kolkata on Saturday night, after sudden rain caused panic among crowds waiting outside a festival pavilion.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said a seven-year-old girl was among the dead. He initially put the death toll at 17 before it rose to 19, PTI reported.
“Six bodies have so far been identified,” Adhikari told reporters.
A senior police officer at the scene told AFP that an announcement caused “commotion” after it began raining. He said the “crowd waiting outside the pandal (pavilion) was pushing, pulling and rushing forward and fell on the ground, leading to the stampede”.
Medics carried the injured, including a police officer, into a local hospital on stretchers, as grieving relatives comforted one another outside.
Nine bodies have been released to their families, PTI reported.
Durga Puja, one of the biggest festivals in West Bengal, honours the Hindu goddess Durga and draws huge crowds to elaborately decorated pandals across Kolkata.
CCTV under review
Police have collected CCTV footage from the festival, and authorities will take action against anyone seen failing in their responsibility for crowd control, PTI reported.
Videos taken before the stampede appeared to show large crowds waiting to enter the pavilion through narrow lanes that allowed only a few people in at a time, according to the Indian Express.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the stampede was “saddening”.
“Condolences to the bereaved families. Wishing the injured a speedy recovery,” he wrote on Facebook. “The West Bengal Government is providing all possible help to the affected families.”
A pattern of crowd disasters
Deadly crushes are frequent at mass events in India, often blamed on poor crowd management and safety lapses.
Last year, a stampede at the Kumbh Mela religious festival killed 30 people.
In Bengaluru, 11 fans were crushed to death during celebrations of the local cricket team’s first Indian Premier League (IPL) title, and 36 people died in a stampede at a campaign rally held by an actor-turned-politician in Tamil Nadu.
In 2024, 121 people were killed in a crush at a Hindu religious gathering in Uttar Pradesh.
(With inputs from agencies)
