Chinnaswamy stampede: Bengaluru Crowd was uncontrollable, cops were finding it very difficult to control it, says DK Shivakumar as several feared dead

What was meant to be a moment of celebration for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and its fans turned tragic on Wednesday evening after a massive crowd gathered at Chinnaswamy Stadium during the team’s IPL victory celebration that led to a stampede-like situation.

Multiple injuries have been reported, with at least two feared dead, according to early inputs.

The event, which began with an official felicitation at Vidhana Soudha, was scheduled to culminate with a grand celebration at the stadium. However, the sheer volume of fans was 'very difficult' for Bengaluru police to control, according to Karnataka deputy CM DK Shivakumar.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar addressed the media soon after visuals of chaos began circulating.

Also Read: Bengaluru stampede: Scary visuals show RCB fans climbing over M Chinnaswamy Stadium walls, fences to attend event; Watch video

“We are very proud of RCB and Karnataka. Eighteen years, a long struggle. Kohli's loyalty has paid royalty… I think this is not a controllable crowd. I apologise to all the people of Bengaluru and Karnataka, we wanted to take a procession, but the crowd is uncontrollable,” said Shivakumar.

The situation rapidly escalated when fans began rushing towards the stadium gates. Several were reportedly injured in the rush, with visuals showing scenes of people fainting and being trampled as police tried to resort to lathi charge.

Also Read: Bengaluru Stampede- Many feared dead during RCB victory celebrations near Chinnaswamy Stadium

"The crowd was very uncontrollable... The cops were finding it very difficult to control it," the Deputy CM added.

He said that the administration had deployed 5,000 police personnel.

This was RCB’s first-ever IPL title win after 18 seasons. The high-voltage celebration, was to feature an open-top bus parade but was cancelled due to traffic woes.