What went wrong? Bengaluru stampede through survivors’ lens

BENGALURU: Eleven people lost their lives and 75 others were injured in a tragic stampede at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday evening, as a massive crowd gathered to celebrate Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title.The incident occurred during what was meant to be a joyous occasion marking RCB’s long-awaited victory. However, the situation turned deadly when overcrowding near one of the stadium entrances led to panic and a sudden rush of fans.Among the deceased are Bhoomik (21), Sahana (19), Poornachandra (32), Prajwal (20), Chinmayi (19), Dewanshi (13), Shravan (20), Devi (29), Shivalingaiah (17), Manoj (33), and Akshatha, whose age has yet to be confirmed.Crowd was angry, restless; no method in madness: Deeksha J/data analyst and resident of Jayanagar 1st blockI had taken my 11-year-old son to the stadium. He was a regular to the stadium in the previous two IPL sea -sons and wanted to see Virat Kohli holding the trophy. When he came back from school, he quickly changed to the ‘No 18 jersey’ and we went to the stadium. What I saw was horrifying. There was no method in madness. The crowd was getting restless and angry.

Suddenly, I saw a few people running to -wards us and I held my son’s hand firmly and moved towards the wall.

I could see people falling on barricades and getting injured. A man was lying motionless, and someone was trying to revive him through CPR. My son was shell shocked. Thank god, nothing happened to us

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Only 2 gates opened: Chinmay/Student from MysuruIf police had allowed RCB’s victory parade, there would not have been a tragedy.

If all stadium gates had been opened, everything would have been peaceful. But they opened only two gates. We could see people standing near the railing being crushed against the metal rails and crying in pain. Most felt that their bones were breaking and made desperate attempts to es -cape. We never expected a catastrophe of this scale.Barricades could not hold people: Chintan Padiyar | youtuberI was at gate 7 which had been barricaded.

When the crowd surged, the barricades collapsed. A few policemen began wielding lathis and people ran amok. I managed to find a way out. I lost my shoes in the melee, but I escaped unscathed.We couldn’t even breathe: A journalist injured in the meleeI was at the main gate which was open. When staff realised the crowd was swelling, they closed the gate. Out of nowhere, police came in and began hitting everyone. People scrambled to get out of the way, and I got trapped.

People were jostling for space to breathe as oxygen levels in the area dipped suddenly. There was violent pushing and pulling. My toenail came off. I was struggling to rise when a hand pulled me. Police took me to a hospital where I was asked to wait.

I was told “people were dying inside”. It was traumatic, it was madness unleashed, and for what? People completely lost control: Achimanya, a resident of RajajinagarPolice asked us to take another route via Cubbon Park, but panic had set in by then. Amid unverified reports of a stampede, injuries and deaths, people ran in all directions — some towards Richmond Circle, others ended up near Anil Kumble Circle. It was a disaster.