By AIJAZ RAHI, Associated Press
BENGALURU, India (AP) — Several people were feared dead and many more injured in a stampede on Wednesday as crowds tried to enter a cricket stadium in southern India’s Karnataka state.
The crush happened as thousands of cricket fans gathered outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru city to celebrate the winners of the Indian Premier League, the world’s most popular T20 cricket tournament.
Indian authorities didn’t immediately confirm the number of deaths. India’s NDTV broadcaster reported at least 11 people had died in the crush, while The Times of India newspaper reported seven dead.
Local TV news channels showed some people stretched out on the ground and emergency personnel carrying people into ambulances.
Cricket fans had come out to celebrate Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s first Indian Premier League title win on Tuesday.
D.K. Shivakumar, the deputy chief minister of Karnataka state, told reporters that “the crowd was very uncontrollable.”
The Board of Control for Cricket in India, which organizes the IPL, in a statement called the incident “unfortunate.”
“This is a negative side of popularity. People are crazy for their cricketers. The organizers should have planned it better,” BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said.
Stampedes are relatively common in India when large crowds gather. In January, at least 30 people were killed as tens of thousands of Hindus rushed to bathe in a sacred river during the Maha Kumbh festival, the world’s largest religious gathering.
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