Suvendu Adhikari, Chief Minister of the Indian state of West Bengal, has said at least 17 people were killed in a stampede during Durga Puja in Kolkata. He said 25 others were injured, one of them critically.
According to information provided by Kolkata Police, the stampede took place at about 7:40 pm on 17 October at the exit gate of a Durga Puja in the Girish Park police station area of Kolkata.
According to police sources, efforts are under way to identify the dead and injured. Many of them are believed to have come from various districts outside Kolkata to attend the puja.
A video recorded from a building near the scene is being shared on social media by several people, including Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh.
The video is somewhat blurred, but several people can be seen lying on the ground and screams can be heard.
Police have sealed off the Durga Puja pandal. No committee member was seen at the pandal after the incident.
Police sources confirmed that three other large and well-known pujas in Kolkata have also been closed to visitors.
According to eyewitnesses, thousands of people had gathered at the Chorbagan Sarbojanin mandap in the evening. When heavy rain began at about 7:30 pm, many people ran to take shelter inside the puja mandap, which is located among narrow lanes and passages.
Meanwhile, those inside the pandal were unable to get out. People stuck outside in the rain also began pushing to get in. As a result, people fell on top of one another during the stampede on temporary stairs.
In the pandal, the Durga idol had been placed under an iron structure. It is being investigated whether any part of this structure collapsed.
According to information received so far from eyewitnesses, the whole incident probably happened within five to seven minutes.
After the incident, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed condolences on X.
His office said through its handle on X that the families of those killed in the incident will be given 200,000 rupees each from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund, and the injured 50,000 rupees each.
