Stampede at Chinnaswamy Stadium, multiple deaths feared

Chaos erupted at Bengaluru's Chinnaswamy Stadium a little after 5.00 pm on Wednesday with a stampede-like situation reportedly ensuing as frenzied Royal Challengers Bengaluru fans broke through gates and barricades to participate in the felicitation celebration for RCB, which won the IPL 2025 trophy in Ahmedabad on Tuesday night.

News agency PTI cited official sources to say that two people were feared dead in the tragedy, and an unknown number injured.

Other media sources, however, put out differing death tolls, with The Hindu reporting as many as 10 deaths and 24 injuries, including a six-year-old girl. Other sources placed the toll between three and seven, with no clear official confirmation as yet available.

The Hindu quoted sources to say that while seven of the dead were taken to Bowring Hospital in Bengaluru's Shivajinagar, three were shifted to Vaidehi Hospital.

The trouble appeared to begin from gate no. 3 of the stadium, where the RCB team was expected to turn up to celebrate the victory. Social media was awash with multiple videos of a crowd attempting to break open a locked gate. None of the videos could be independently verified.

According to news agency IANS, three people died and 20 were injured in the stampede. An IANS report quoted the police as saying that three individuals were declared dead in hospital, while the condition of two others is critical with both being admitted to the intensive care unit.

Police at the scene transported the injured to ambulances and shifted them to nearby Bowring Hospital. Police stated that the ambulances were unable to move quickly owing to the overcrowded roads.

In a separate incident, one fan, while climbing a gate to jump into the stadium, fell and broke his leg. Eyewitnesses reported people climbing trees and sitting on branches to catch a glimpse of the celebrations.

The state government had earlier cancelled the victory parade from Vidhana Soudha to Chinnaswamy Stadium citing security reasons. Police stated that they had been controlling crowds since Tuesday night, managing them and ensuring no untoward incidents occurred. A huge crowd also thronged the Vidhana Soudha premises to witness the felicitation programme by the government, leading to a mild lathi charge by the police.

With agency inputs