Kerala cusat stampede 25/11/23 : 4 dead, 70 injured in stampede in CUSAT music fest in Kochi
Four students were killed and 70 others injured in a stampede-like situation during a Tech Fest at the Cochin University of
Science and Technology (CUSAT) on Saturday. The incident occurred during a music concert that was held in an open-air auditorium on campus at CUSAT. Singer Nikita Gandhi was performing when the incident took place.
Kerala Health Minister Veena George confirmed that the four students were brought dead at the government medical college and hospital in Kalamassery near Kochi. Reports suggest that 15 of the injured have been admitted to intensive care units at hospitals nearby.
Forty-four of the injured have been admitted to Ernakulam Medical College Hospital located at Kalamassery. A music night by Nikhita Gandhi was on at CUSAT open air auditorium when it rained. It was a packed house for the show and a stampede occurred when those who were standing outside tried to enter the auditorium.
Ernakulam district collector NSK Unmesh said among the injured, the condition of two persons is critical. We have alerted all hospitals in the city in the wake of the incident. While all the deceased are yet to be identified, among the injured, the police are yet to ascertain the identities of two men and two women.
According to the police, the stampede happened during a musical event at the open-air auditorium inside the university. A lot of people, including students from other colleges, were present at the event.
When it started raining, hundreds of people from the audience rushed to the auditorium seeking cover from the rain, leading to a stampede. When a few students slipped on the steps of the auditorium, others stepped on them causing the tragedy.
Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan posted on X, “The entire state is in shock over the stampede that unfolded at CUSAT University in Ernakulam. Heartfelt condolences go out to the family members of the four students who lost their lives. Immediate and enhanced treatment facilities have been arranged for the injured. P. Rajeev, the Minister for Industries, and R. Bindu, the Minister of Higher Education, have departed for Ernakulam to assess the situation directly. A thorough investigation into the incident will commence without delay.”
Following the unfortunate incident, Vice Chancellor Dr Sankaran said that a musical program was organised as part of the tech fest. “As part of tech fest, a musical program was also organised.
Unfortunately, the crowd was huge and there was rain. The steps created some problems and some students fell down. The number of people injured I can only tell tomorrow. More than 2,000 people attended, 2 students are critical,” he was quoted as saying by ANI.
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Aravind K S, a third year integrated MSc student of CUSAT, who miraculously escaped the stampede said the tragedy that led to the deaths of two girls and two boys was the result of a failure in controlling the crowd.
“I was standing right next to the gate that leads into the auditorium,” said Aravind. The programme was to begin at 6:45 pm and inside the auditorium, the technicians were trying out the sound systems. “During that time the volunteers, comprised of the students of SOE, were slowly letting the students inside. However, after sometime when it was around 7 pm, somebody suddenly opened the gate completely.
As such a large crowd of students had been pressing on to them gate. So the total effect was that those standing in the front got pushed from the back and they lost their footing resulting in them tripping and falling on the steps leading to the auditorium,” he added.
The crowd rushed inside trampling those that had fallen down on the steps, said Aravind. “I got pushed but managed to not to fall. It was mostly girls who had been standing in the front and they were the ones who had fallen. A lot of students have sustained injuries,” he said.
“The crowd was comprised mainly of the 2nd and 3rd year students. Also, the programme was being managed by students of these batches. They didn’t have any idea how to control the crowd and that was the main reason behind the tragedy,” he said. According to him, all the programmes that are held inside the campus are organised by the students. “Teachers are never in the picture,” he said
According to reports, entry to the concert was restricted with gate passes. However, the situation went out of control after it rained and those who were
waiting outside rushed into the auditorium to take shelter and caused the stampede.
Annual Tech Fest called ‘Dhishna’ was being held at Cusat. Today was the second day of the three-day event.
cusat Met univesity in kerala
cusat only meteorology studied univesity in kerala. Department of Atmospheric Science was formed in 1996 by bifurcating the erstwhile Physical Oceanography and Meteorology Division of the School of Marine Sciences. The Department started offering a 4-semester M. Sc programme in Meteorology since 1975 and a 4-semester M. Tech in Atmospheric Science since 1989.
The ST Radar at CUSAT is a multi-purpose radar, which can be utilized for operational and research purposes in weather and climate sciences, strategic applications, space weather, radio astronomy, and several other purposes.
The Centre for Atmospheric Radar at CUSAT investigates major atmospheric processes understand climate change, global warming, its impacts on monsoon variability, tropical cyclones, extreme rainfall events, such as occurrence of frequent floods or droughts over the Indian subcontinent, especially in the Kerala region.
