Sudden downpour and rush led to ‘freak accident’ killing 4: report
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Kochi: A Senior police officer in Kochi said that the auditorium, where four people killed yesterday following stampede ahead of a concert, was not packed to its capacity at the time of accident.
Singer Nikhita Gandhi was to perform at an open-air auditorium at Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) where the accident occurred.
Senior police officer MR Ajith Kumar reportedly said the auditorium could hold at least 1,000 people and several seats were still vacant when the incident took place, NDTV reported.
The accident reportedly occurred when students rushed inside the hall when it suddenly started raining.
‘When the incident took place, the programme had not started. The auditorium was not full. Organisers were checking passes and allowing entry in batches. Suddenly it started raining, people broke queues and started pushing to get in,’ MR Ajith Kumar was quoted as saying.
It is reported that there was only a single gate for both entry and exit to the auditorium.
Only those carrying passes were allowed inside and outside there was a long queue of youngsters, NDTV reported citing eyewitnesses.
The officer, calling it a freak accident, said some people fell off the steps and others walked over them, killing four students.
‘This was the result of that sudden rush and push when it rained,’ he was quoted as saying.
The organisers reportedly announced that engineering students would be allowed first.
The students of other streams who were eagerly waiting to get in rushed in when it started raining, taking it as an opportunity, the report said citing sources.
Expressing condolence, Singer Nikhita Gandhi said: ‘No words are possibly enough to express this profound grief. My prayers go out to the families of the students.’
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who is on a statewide outreach trip with cabinet members, held an emergency meeting of ministers following the incident.