TVK stampede tragedy: Death toll at Vijay's Karur roadshow rises to 39; probe underway

TIRUCHY/ CHENNAI: The death toll in the stampede at Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay's Karur rally on Saturday night rose to 39. At least 8 children were among those who were suffocated to death at the actor-politician's heavily-crowded rally.

Tamil Nadu Health Secretary P Senthil Kumar said that out of the total deceased, 28 were from Karur, 2 each from Erode, Tiruppur, and Dindigul, and 1 from Salem, while 4 are yet to be identified. 

Speaking to reporters, he said that out of 95 injured people, all are stable except one. He said, "A total of 95 people have been admitted to the hospital. 51 are admitted to the Government Medical College and Hospital. Except for one, the others are stable. Specialised doctors are looking after them. The remaining 44 are admitted to the private hospitals. 39 people have lost their lives."

Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Law and Order, S Davidson Devasirvatham told reporters that a case has been registered and an investigation into the incident is underway.

Though the Karur roadshow was scheduled for the evening, party functionaries had started thronging Velusamy Puram, the venue of the campaign rally, right from Saturday (September 27) morning. By the time the event drew closer, the crowd swelled and became unmanageable. 

When Vijay’s campaign vehicle finally pulled in at the venue around 7.30 pm, a surge of party functionaries attempted to make their way to his van to get a closer look of their idol. By then, several people had passed out. 

When party cadres brought it to his attention that the situation was rapidly getting out of hand, Vijay halted his speech and threw water bottles at them from atop his custom-built campaign bus and called out to police officers present at the venue to arrange ambulances. 

As soon as he realised the gravity of the crowd situation, Vijay ended his speech way before schedule. Ambulances had a tough time negotiating the heavily crowded road to reach the spot to attend to the people.

Vijay’s vehicle, which was leaving the venue, stopped for a while to give way for the ambulances. Even as the tragedy unfolded in Karur, Vijay reached Tiruchy airport to head back to Chennai. He refused to speak to the media about the tragedy. Hours later he tweeted his deepest condolences to the bereaved families, saying his heart was "shattered."

Describing the incidents at Karur as alarming, Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin had directed former minister V Senthilbalaji, who is the party’s Karur district secretary, State Health Minister Ma Subramanian, and the Karur district Collector to ensure immediate medical attention for all those admitted to hospitals after collapsing in the stampede. 

He also had asked School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi to extend assistance on a war footing and said he had spoken to senior police officers to bring the situation under control. The Chief Minister had rushed to the Secretariat on Saturday night to review the situation, and said he would visit Karur on Saturday night itself. The CM also appointed a one-person commission to probe into the stampede event.

Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, who had left for Dubai on a personal visit, said he was returning to the State in view of the tragedy, government sources said.

State police chief (in-charge) DGP G Venkataraman had rushed to the spot to oversee the efforts. In a late-night press conference, he said crowds began swelling from 11 am itself. "In their permission letter, they (TVK) had said they expected a crowd of about 10,000. There were tweets from the party handle that Vijay was expected to arrive by 12, so crowds began to gather. He reached at 7.40 pm. I am not blaming anyone, but the facts are that there were limited facilities for water and other necessities," Venkataraman said at the police headquarters. He added that the location allocated for Vijay’s speech is a pre-determined spot used by all political parties.

(With agency inputs)