At Least Nineteen Killed in a Festival Crush in Kolkata
Nineteen people died and twenty-five are being treated after a crush at a Durga Puja pavilion, the chief minister of West Bengal said after visiting the hospital. A seven-year-old girl is among the dead. Police say a crowd ran for cover as rain began, an announcement caused commotion, and people fell as the crowd pushed forward.
Around 3,500 pavilions were set up across the city for the festival and several of the busiest were advised to close to visitors. Police have detained some pavilion organisers, private security staff and others who were on duty. The chief minister announced an investigation by a special team headed by a judge of the state’s high court, which is a more serious instrument than the usual police inquiry and suggests the question is as much about crowd management and permissions as about the weather. Narendra Modi called the deaths tragic and his office announced compensation of 200,000 rupees, about $2,100, for each next of kin and 50,000 rupees for each person injured; the interior minister said the administration was ensuring medical facilities were available. One note on the figure above: it was seventeen when first reported on Saturday evening and nineteen by this morning, and the lower number is still visible on some reports that have not been updated. Crushes at Indian religious gatherings recur with a regularity that makes the inquiry’s terms the thing to watch.