At least three individuals, among lakhs of spectators who attended an air show of the Indian Air Force (IAF) at the Marina Beach in Chennai have died, officials said on Sunday.
The deceased were identified as 48-year-old Srinivasan, Karthikeyan (34) and John Babu (56).
The deaths were due to both dehydration and a heavy crowd presence, reported India Today, and added that 230 others were hospitalised, also due to the same reasons. The air show was on the occasion of the IAF's 92nd foundation day (October 8) and took place from 11am to 1pm.
According to PTI, the nearby Lighthouse metro station and the Velachery railway station of the Chennai MRTS, the closest railway junction to the iconic Marina Beach, were swarmed by people returning from the show and many found it difficult to get even a foothold to stand on the platform.
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{{/usCountry}}According to PTI, the nearby Lighthouse metro station and the Velachery railway station of the Chennai MRTS, the closest railway junction to the iconic Marina Beach, were swarmed by people returning from the show and many found it difficult to get even a foothold to stand on the platform.
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{{/usCountry}}“Nearly a dozen people swooned on the Marina due to a near stampede-like situation and because of the hot weather. They were treated at a government facility.” it quoted a police officer as saying.
The chaos resulted in traffic snarls that also impacted arterial roads connecting Marina to various parts of the metropolis, Tamil Nadu's capital city.
Interacting with PTI, K Sridhar from Velachery who attended the event with his family, recalled the scenes at the Velachery station.
“I found it extremely difficult to take the MRTS train at Velachery as the station was fully packed with people eager to see the air display. Nevertheless, I managed to take my family of four to the Marina and back, though fully sapped of energy while returning home,” Sridhar said.
Meanwhile, the traffic near the beach could be restored nearly three hours after the conclusion of the event.