'3-4 People Died In Front Of Me': Bengaluru Stampede Witness Recalls Horror

A mound of shoes and sandals lying here and there and some pieces of what appeared to be sports apparel and merchandise were the telltale signs of the stampede that broke out in the immediate vicinity of the Chinnaswamy stadium here, leading to the deaths of 11 persons and injuries to 33 enthusiasts.

As the celebratory mood kicked in to commemorate the first ever IPL title win by the RCB, massive crowds of young men and women, touching lakhs, gathered just outside the stadium.

Many youths managed to climb branches of huge trees and frenzied young men clung to poles and even scaled huge walls to gain entry into the stadium to catch a glimpse of their stars, all at the same time.

Nothing could deter them and crowds continued to swell and the chants of 'RCB' in the busy area brought in an atmosphere of carnival on the streets of Bengaluru.

As jubilation intensified, the crowds turned frantic and were uncontrollable, steadily leading to a stampede. Soon, wails and shouting began to be heard and even before one could realize what was happening, people fell down and became unconscious, who had to be rushed to nearby hospitals.

While all this was happening, many youths still chose to continue to sit on compound walls near the Saint Mark's Cathedral and not even the continuous blare of sirens of police vehicles could stop them from shouting to cheer their beloved cricket team.

Police men and women though did their best to regulate crowd in and around the stadium area, they were heavily outnumbered as the maiden win became a youth cultural extravaganza. Appeals from the police informing people that "stadium is full...stadium is full," and urging them to disperse fell on deaf ears.

An eyewitness said, 600-700 people, especially women, at a time broke open the gate and tried to enter, leading to stampede.

"Information was spread that the team's roadshow had been cancelled and called on everyone to gather at the stadium, and many women had come without any tickets.....police tried to stop the women, but they did not listen and tried to climb the gates. 600-700 broke open the gates and at a time tried to enter, this led to stampede. Many victims were women, though I tried to help, I couldn't because of the crowd and chaos," he said.

Another eyewitness said people started crowding despite warnings by those at the front. Police were not to be seen, it was suffocating.

"I saw many girls had fallen down, some fell on me. I got some injuries on my ribs. Thankfully there is no dislocation, I have some muscle pain," he said.

Another person said at least 30-40 people fell at a time due to crowding, but more people were coming in from behind. Three-four people died on the spot in front of my eyes.

"At 3 pm we were asked to come here at gate number 7, but no one was allowed inside the stadium till 5.20 pm. There was a small opening, what else will happen? 300-400 were there at this gate ...it was suffocating and it is great that I'm alive," he said.

An inconsolable man who had lost his engineering student son, blaming the administration, said, "Because of your carelessness you took my son's life today....allow me to take my son's body along with me today. I have lost my only son, who was 22 year old. Because of your attitude, my son has become a dead body on the streets today. He had come here without telling me.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)