IPL champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Wednesday issued a statement following the death of 11 people and over 47 injuries in a stampede that happened when thousands gathered to celebrate the IPL final victory of franchise. “We are deeply anguished by the unfortunate incidents that have come to light through media reports regarding public gatherings all over Bengaluru in anticipation of the team’s arrival this afternoon. The safety and well-being of everyone is of utmost importance to us,” RCB said.
“ mourns the tragic loss of lives and extend our heartfelt condolences to the affected families. Immediately upon being made aware of the situation, we promptly amended our program, and followed, the guidance and advice of the local administration. We urge all our supporters to please stay safe,” it added.
RCB talisman also shared the statement on Instagram, saying, “At a loss for words. Absolutely gutted.”
On Wednesday morning, the team’s management had announced that they would hold a victory parade in an open bus from Vidhana Soudha to the stadium, roughly 1 km away, before an event at the stadium for which limited free passes would be available online.
𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: 𝗥𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗿𝘂
We are deeply anguished by the unfortunate incidents that have come to light through media reports regarding public gatherings all over in anticipation of the team’s arrival this…
— (@RCBTweets)
At 11:56 am on Wednesday, however, the traffic police announced that there would be no victory parade. Around 1:30 pm, the RCB team arrived at HAL airport and took a bus to the hotel before proceeding to Vidhana Soudha. By then, thousands had gathered around the Vidhana Soudha, where Karnataka Chief Minister was scheduled to felicitate the team.
According to the police, by 3 pm, around 50,000 people were within a 1-kilometre radius, and the number was only rising.
According to officials investigating the incident, the crowd expected that after the felicitation, the open bus would head towards the stadium. As many did not have tickets to enter the venue, they hoped they would at least catch a glimpse of the cricket stars on the bus, unaware that the victory parade had been cancelled.
When the team did leave for the stadium, it was in a closed bus.
Tragedy struck around 4:45 pm, when Gate 1 of the stadium partially opened and a crowd, comprising both ticket holders and those without tickets, attempted to swarm into the premises.
