31 killed in stampede at Vijay Thalapathy rally

A stampede at a rally of actor and politician Vijay Thalapathy in Tamil Nadu, India, has killed 31 people. Of the injured, 50 have been admitted to various private hospitals, including Karur Medical College Hospital. Three of them are children. This information was reported by Indian media on Saturday (September 27). It is feared that the death toll may rise. 

According to Indian media The Hindu, Vijay Thalapathy cut short his speech due to the chaotic situation and appealed to the police to help the people who were trampled.

According to eyewitnesses and locals, supporters of Thalapathy's political party Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) had been waiting for him for more than six hours. When Vijay reached the roadshow after waiting, the crowd got out of control. During this, there was a stampede and casualties.

The Hindu reported that at least 31 people were killed in a stampede at a public rally of actor and politician Vijay in Tamil Nadu's Karur district. Local hospital officials said that children were among the dead.

Senior Karur district police officer Davidson Devasirvatham said that dozens of people injured at the rally have already been admitted to the hospital and dozens more are being brought in. He expressed fears that the death toll could rise.

The report said that most of the dead were supporters of Vijay's political party Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam. They had been waiting for Vijay at the rally venue for at least six hours. Vijay arrived at the rally later than scheduled.

State Health Minister M Subramanian reached the rally venue in Karur district after receiving news of the casualties in the stampede. In addition, state Chief Minister MK Stalin has directed District Secretary V Senthilbalaji to closely monitor the situation in Karur district.

In a post on social media, Stalin wrote, "The news coming from Karur is very worrying. I have ordered immediate treatment of the people who were trampled and admitted to the hospital."

The country's state news agency PTI said that many people fainted due to excessive crowding at the rally venue. Later, Vijay abruptly ended his speech after seeing the situation getting worse. The injured were quickly rescued and taken to the hospital in an ambulance.

Local officials said that the situation got out of control due to the huge crowd. At that time, Vijay Thalapathy's party workers warned the top leaders about the possibility of an accident. Later, Thalapathy Vijay abruptly ended his speech. Later, his party workers threw bottled water at the crowd from the campaign bus. Party workers said that water bottles were thrown to help the sick people.

According to the PTI report, the ambulance had to accelerate to reach the spot. The injured were rescued and taken to the hospital amidst the huge crowd.

It is estimated that at least 30,000 people had gathered at the rally venue. Chennai's ruling DMK has alleged that the accident occurred due to negligence by Vijay's party workers. At the same time, the party has demanded the arrest of Thalapathy Vijay.

Earlier, on September 20, TVK issued strict security and code of conduct for party workers and supporters. It said that Vijay's supporters should not follow his car or convoy and arrange for a public reception for him. In addition, pregnant women, children, the elderly, the physically challenged and the sick were advised not to come to the rally and watch the program online.