By AIJAZ RAHI, Associated Press
BENGALURU, India (AP) — Several people were feared dead and many more injured in a stampede on Wednesday outside a cricket stadium in southern India’s Karnataka state.
The incident happened as thousands of cricket fans gathered outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru city to celebrate the winners of the Indian Premier League, which is the world’s most popular T20 cricket tournament.
The Times of India newspaper reported at least seven people had died in the crush. Local TV news channels showed visuals of police shifting the injured persons and those who fell unconscious to ambulances.
D.K. Shivakumar, the deputy chief minister of Karnataka state, told reporters that “the crowd was very uncontrollable.”
The event was being held to celebrate Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s first Indian Premier League title win on Tuesday.
Stampedes are relatively common in India when large crowds gather at a place. 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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