The deadly stampede during the public meeting of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president and actor Vijay on September 27, 2025, in Velusamypuram, Karur, Tamil Nadu, has left a community in shock and mourning.
- “The tragic incident claimed 39 lives and injured many others, with locals pointing to several key factors: crowd mismanagement, a poorly chosen venue, and lack of basic amenities that contributed to the catastrophic outcome.”
Recent Stampede Incidents in India:
- According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), India recorded over 3,000 deaths in stampedes from 2000 to 2022, with nearly 4,000 stampede events documented in the last three decades.
What is a stampede
- Professor Wenguo Weng defines a stampede as “an impulsive mass movement of a crowd that often results in injuries and deaths”.
Types of Stampedes
- Assoc. Prof. K M Ngai classifies stampedes into 2 types on the basis of movement:
- Unidirectional stampede events may occur when a crowd moving in the same direction encounters a sudden positive or negative change in force which alters its movement.
- Turbulent stampede events can occur in situations with uncontrolled crowds, induced panic, or crowds merging from numerous directions.
Factors leading to stampedes
1. Human Psychology:
- Psychologist Alexander Mintz theorised that “In situations that cause panic, working together is essential for success and provides benefits to individuals as long as everybody cooperates. However, when this collaborative behavior is disrupted, it no longer remains beneficial to the individuals involved.
2. Structural Issues:
- Lack of light.
- Crowd flow not being divided for different crowds.
- Collapse of barriers, buildings.
- Blocked exits, evacuation route, poor design of door at the entrance.
- Fire hazards.
3. High Crowd Density: When the crowd density (number of people per unit area) exceeds the available space, it can create panic among attendees, especially if crowd management is lacking. This situation can sometimes lead to a stampede.
Causes of Death in Stampedes:
- Traumatic Asphyxia: Partial or complete cessation of respiration due to external compression of the thorax and/or upper abdomen.
- Myocardial Infarction: Heart attack, caused by decreased or complete cessation of blood flow to the heart.
- Direct crushing injury to internal organs, head injuries.
- Neck compression.
National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) guidelines for crowd management in India
- Capacity Planning:
- An effective method for counting and monitoring visitors passing through a staging point should be implemented to manage the flow.
- Every staging point should have appropriate facilities for rest, food, water, and hygiene maintenance.
- Multiple routes to enhance visitor movement and reduce congestion.
- Crowd Control: During the crowd control focus should be on managing the demand-supply gap through:
- Controlling crowd inflow and outflow.
- Regulating crowd movement at the venue.
- Conducting Hazard, Risk and Vulnerability analysis (HRVA):
- Transition from “crowd control” to “crowd management”.
- Recognize a variety of potential threats and causes of disasters at places where large crowds gather.
- Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA):
- NDMA has recommended that all event organizers/planners conduct FMEA.
- This methodology involves rating every possible hazard on the dimensions of 1. Severity, 2. Frequency of Occurrence, 3. Difficulty of detection; on a scale of 1-10 to arrive at an overall Risk Priority Number (RPN).
Measures for effective crowd management and to prevent stampedes
1. Stampede Risk-Reduction Framework: Establishing a proper framework for planning mass gatherings is vital, as it requires a collaborative, multi-disciplinary approach that focuses on identifying potential risks to develop and execute suitable mitigation measures.
2. Better Design of Spaces: Improving the physical organization and design of spaces is essential for effective crowd management. i.e. having sufficient exits can help in crowd movement.
3. Live Surveillance of the Crowd: Live surveillance of the crowd allows organizers to monitor crowd density, bottlenecks, pressure buildup, and pinpoint the source of disturbances, leading to improved crowd management.
4. Inter-agency Communication: Effective communication between organizers, such as temple authorities, local officials, and police, is crucial for crowd management.
