Seven dead in stampede outside India's Bengaluru cricket stadium: Local media reports

NEW DELHI: At least seven people were killed in a stampede outside a cricket stadium in India's Bengaluru, where an event was being held to celebrate Royal Challengers Bengaluru's first Indian Premier League title win, TV channels reported on Wednesday (Jun 4).

Bengaluru beat Punjab Kings in the tournament's final match on Tuesday.

Thousands of people, some of them waving the team's red flag, lined the streets leading up to the Chinnaswamy Stadium in the heart of the city as the cricket team arrived at the venue in a bus in the evening, television channels showed.

Visuals after the stampede showed a policeman carrying an injured spectator to an ambulance, while people gathered around a second person who lay seemingly unconscious on the ground.

Karnataka state's Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said he was not able to immediately confirm deaths.

"This is not a controllable crowd," he said, speaking to reporters. "The police were finding it very difficult."

"I apologise to the people of Karnataka and Bengaluru," he said. "We wanted to take a procession, but the crowd was very uncontrollable ... the crowd was so much."

An AFP reporter said the Bengaluru team had reached the cricket stadium in the city, where celebrations had previously been planned.

Stampedes and other accidents are not uncommon when large crowds gather in India, including during religious events.

At least 30 people were killed in a stampede at the Maha Kumbh Hindu festival in January, as tens of millions gathered to take a dip in sacred waters on its most auspicious day.