A day meant to mark a moment of national pride for the Indian Air Force (IAF) turned into a nightmare at Chennai’s Marina Beach, when a crowd of more than 12 lakh people surged toward exits, leaving four dead and many hospitalised.
The October 6 air show, held to commemorate the IAF’s 92nd anniversary, was the first such event in Chennai in over two decades. What was intended to be a spectacle of military aviation ended in chaos as the sheer size of the crowd overwhelmed both organisers and local authorities.
A senior police officer said that by late Sunday evening, four deaths had been confirmed and 40 people were in hospitals. “Over 150 people have received first aid in various parts of the city due to the dehydration and stress they faced. One death was reported on the beach, another near Napier Bridge. Other victims died on their way back home at different places. It was not a stampede situation at one particular place,” the officer said.
The event, widely publicised by both the IAF, attracted more than 12 lakh spectators to the sprawling Marina Beach. By 7 am, people had begun assembling at the two-kilometre stretch of coastline to secure vantage points for the 11.30 am to 1 pm air show.
Families, children, and the elderly arrived by trains, metros, buses, and private vehicles – thousands of four-wheelers and two-wheelers – eager to witness the show, which had even earned a spot in the Limca Book of Records for its unprecedented attendance.
However, when the event ended at 1 pm, the entire crowd attempted to leave the area at once. Traffic authorities were unprepared to manage the mass exodus, and soon, congestion built up around Marina Beach, paralysing movement for more than an hour.
Eyewitnesses reported panic among attendees as they found themselves trapped. “It was suffocating, we couldn’t move at all,” said Abhasree, who attended the show till the end.
Near Napier Bridge, Karthikeyan, 34, who came with family, suffered a fatal heart attack. Many who attended the show had experiences of dehydration and fainting, as temperatures soared to 36 degrees Celsius, with no provision for water or medical assistance readily available, attendees said.
Among the deceased were Srinivasan, 48, who died near Santhome after collapsing in a parking area; John Babu, 56, a former staff member of Omandurar hospital, who died while trying to retrieve his scooter from the hospital’s parking lot; and Dinesh, who was found unconscious near the shoreline. Each of these deaths occurred not in the throes of a stampede, but in the aftermath of mismanagement that led to people being stranded in overcrowded conditions for far too long.
While the state government had anticipated a large crowd – initial estimates predicted around 10 lakh people – the actual turnout exceeded even those expectations. The administration, which had made arrangements for crowd control, appeared woefully underprepared for the scale of the event.
The lack of adequate transportation added to the confusion, as Chennai Metro Rail Limited services proved insufficient to ferry the massive number of attendees. Crowds swelled not only at the beach but at train stations like Velachery and Government Estate, with photos and videos of the unprecedented crowd at these local stations going viral on social media.
The Chepauk Stadium, a venue next to the beach that regularly handles up to 40,000 people during cricket matches, is nearby. But the beach received more than 12 lakh spectators, with nowhere near the same level of planning or control.
As the crowd funneled through limited exits and narrow streets, desperate attendees sought refuge by cutting through nearby areas, including the Madras University campus on Kamaraj Salai. However, even these makeshift routes were not enough to stave off the chaos that ensued.