Stampede after cricket victory kills at least 11 in India

Eleven people were killed and scores more injured after a stampede outside a cricket stadium in Bengaluru, in India’s southern Karnataka state, where fervent fans had gathered to celebrate the first-ever Indian Premier League title win for the city’s team.

Thousands of people had congregated on Wednesday in anticipation of the arrival of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru team at the stadium to celebrate Tuesday’s victory in the IPL final. 

The state’s chief minister confirmed the 11 fatalities and 33 people seriously injured in the stampede late Wednesday evening. All the injured are out of danger, according to officials.

“A moment of joy has been eclipsed by sorrow,” Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who only goes by one name, wrote on X. 

He promised compensation for the victims’ families, and added that, ahead of the deadly stampede, “precautionary measures were taken by not allowing a victory parade” because of the fear of crowd surges.

“People even broke the gates of the stadium,” Siddaramaiah told local media. “No one expected such a huge crowd.” 

Bengaluru police had sent out a warning earlier that they had not approved a victory parade, as thousands of fans continued to gather. 

By 3 p.m. in the afternoon, around 50,000 people had assembled within a one-kilometre radius, according to police, and the number continued to rise. 

Video filmed outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium in the heart of the city showed throngs of people clustered at the entrance, with the crowd so big that dozens of fans were seen climbing over walls and fences.

The crowd surged forward, crushing several people including at least one child, Indian TV channels reported on Wednesday.

Indian PM calls incident ‘heartrending’

Siddaramaiah told a press briefing that more than 200,000 people had entered the stadium, which only has a capacity of 32,000.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the incident “absolutely heartrending” on X.

“In this tragic hour, my thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones,” said the tweet, posted by the prime minister’s office.

“I pray that those who are injured have a speedy recovery.”

The Bengaluru cricket team, which includes star player and fan favourite Virat Kohli, who recently announced his retirement from international test cricket, beat the Punjab Kings on Tuesday in the Indian cricket league final. 

It was the Royal Challengers Bengaluru team’s first IPL title after three failed attempts.