Twenty people including children are feared dead in a stampede during actor-politician Vijay’s rally in Tamil Nadu’s Karur on Saturday.
“The number of dead may increase as s 500 injured are already admitted and at least 400 more are being brought”, said a senior police officer Davidson Devasirvatham present in the hospital.
“The adults were supporters of Vijay’s political party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). They had been waiting for him for at least six hours. However, he arrived late at the rally venue creating chaos to see him. ” said an official.
“The news coming from Karur is worrying. I have asked for immediate medical treatment to the public who were admitted to hospital after they fainted due to the stampede,” Mr Stalin said in a post on X in Tamil.
State Health Minister M Subramaniyan has rushed to Karur. Chief Minister MK Stalin has ordered Karur district secretary V Senthilbalaji to monitor the situation in the meantime.
Vijay abruptly ended his speech at the overcrowded rally in Karur as several people began to faint, news agency PTI reported. They were taken away to hospital in ambulances.
Before the tragedy unfolded, the crowd swelled and became uncontrollable while the TVK chief continued his address. Several workers saw the situation and raised an alarm, after which Vijay halted his speech and threw water bottles from a custom-built campaign bus in which he was travelling.
Ambulances had a tough time negotiating the heavily crowded thoroughfare to reach the spot, PTI reported.
( with inputs from news agencies )
