BENGALURU, India (AP) 鈥� At least 11 people are dead and more than 30 injured after a stampede on Wednesday as crowds tried to enter a cricket stadium in southern India鈥檚 Karnataka state, authorities said.
The crush happened as tens of thousands of cricket fans gathered outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru city to celebrate the winners of the Indian Premier League, the world鈥檚 most popular T20 tournament.
Karnataka state鈥檚 Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who only uses one name, said the crowd tried to break one of the stadium鈥檚 gates and enter to take part in celebrations.
Eleven people were killed and 33 others were injured, Siddaramaiah said, adding that most of the injured were stable and receiving treatment in hospitals.
鈥淎t a time of celebration, this unfortunate event should not have happened. We are saddened by this,鈥� he told reporters.
"No one expected this crowd,鈥� he said.
Cricket fans had come out to celebrate Royal Challengers Bengaluru鈥檚 first Indian Premier League title win . The team had given away free passes to fans for the event through its website, and urged them to follow guidelines set by police and authorities.
Local TV news channels showed some people stretched out on the ground and emergency personnel carrying people into ambulances, while celebrations inside the stadium continued.
D.K. Shivakumar, the deputy chief minister of Karnataka state, told reporters that 鈥渢he crowd was very uncontrollable."
The Board of Control for Cricket in India, which organizes the IPL, in a statement called the incident 鈥渦nfortunate.鈥�
鈥淭his is a negative side of popularity. People are crazy for their cricketers. The organizers should have planned it better,鈥� BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said.
called the incident 鈥渉eartrending鈥� and said his 鈥渢houghts are with all those who have lost their loved ones.鈥�
Stampedes in India when large crowds gather. In January, at least 30 people were killed as tens of thousands of Hindus rushed to bathe in a sacred river during the , the world鈥檚 largest religious gathering.
Aijaz Rahi, The Associated Press
