5 dead, 100 hospitalised after Chennai IAF air show: Was overcrowding, dehydration to blame?

A day of spectacular aerial display of the Indian Air Force to mark its 92nd anniversary over the skies of Chennai’s Marina Beach ended in tragedy when five people died and others were injured.

Thousands had gathered at the venue for what was Chennai’s first airshow in over two decades. However, what was supposed to be a day of national pride, and a thrilling display of the Air Force’s prowess in the skies turned into a disaster as the crowds overwhelmed the authorities.

What went wrong? How did the airshow turn into a disaster? We take a closer look.

IAF’s prowess on show

To mark the Indian Air Force’s 92 anniversary, the force organised an airshow in Chennai at Marina Beach on Sunday (October 6). The event saw nearly 72 aircraft take part, including the prized Rafale jets as well as the Tejas and the SU-30.

People, who had gathered at the venue, were stunned and awed when the Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jet performed the “Loop-tumble-yaw” manoeuvrability and dispensed flares. The Suryakiran team, too, took to the skies to enthrall the crowd.

The ‘Made in India’ Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, and Light Combat Helicopter
Prachand also took part in the aerial display, which had the theme of ‘Saksham, Sashakta, Amtanirbhar’. The Sarang helicopter display also stunned the crowds with its breath-taking performance.

According to a press release, this was one of the biggest air shows, with reports adding that it would be entered into the Limca Book of World Records.

Tragedy strikes

As this was Chennai’s first show in over 20 years, lakhs and lakhs of people thronged the venue to catch a glimpse of IAF’s big birds in action. Over 10 lakh people converged on Marina from as early as 7 am to grab a good spot — with the event scheduled to begin at 11.30 am.

Families comprising children and the elderly arrived by trains, metros, buses and private vehicles eager to witness the show. While many came prepared with umbrellas and drinking water, thousands of others landed up at the venue unprepared.

However, that is what led to the tragedy and five people fainted and died on Sunday afternoon after the show got over, while nearly 100 others had to be hospitalised. The dead have been identified as Srinivasan (48), Karthikeyan (34), John Babu (56), and Dinesh.

According to the police, V Karthikeyan, a resident of RMV Nagar in Thiruvottiyur, had come to the air show with his wife and two-year-old son. Once the event ended, they were walking on Rajaji Road when Karthikeyan fainted near the INS Adyar front gate. He was rushed to the Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital (RGGH) where he was pronounced dead.

Meanwhile, 56-year-old John, a resident of Korukkupet, fainted near the Parthasarathy arch on Kamarajar Salai. Srinivasan of Perungalathur also fainted at the same place. Both were rushed to the Government Omandurar Multispeciality hospital in an ambulance, but to no avail, said the officer.

The police also found another person on Marina Beach and later identified him to be Dinesh Kumar.

Many others, almost 100 of them, had to be hospitalised after suffering from heatstroke and dehydration. They were later discharged after receiving the necessary medical aid.

Dehydration and overcrowding

Many note that the chaos and the resulting deaths and injuries were a result of overcrowding at the venue. After the show ended in the afternoon, the lakhs of people who had gathered there all attempted to leave at once, creating a stampede-like situation.

Exit points got congested with people stuck for more than 40 minutes under the scorching sun. Officials say that some desperate to seek relief from the sun, broke through the barricades and this led to the tragedy.

Witnesses at the site recounted the chaotic scenes of people trying to crawl out of the venue. “It was like a sea of humanity. We were stuck for over two hours and it was impossible to move,” said one spectator.

Many in the crowd also complained about the lack of arrangements and social media was flooded with videos of ambulances getting stuck in the crowd.

Others also complained about getting dehydrated in the crowd owing to the blaring sun. At the hospital where many of the injured were taken, doctors said that they were treating the people for giddiness and dehydration. As Dr Therani Rajan explained to The Hindu, “When the temperature goes up, the hypothalamus cannot function properly. It goes for systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) affecting the functions of vital organs. Some people suffer arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat) leading to cardiac arrest and death.”

Some also lament the lack of public transport facilities — the Chennai Metro Rail Services seemed to be insufficient to ferry the sea of attendees at the event.

Opposition hits out at Stalin

The opposition, namely the AIADMK and the BJP, criticised the MK Stalin-led government for the event and the lack of planning on their part.

Leader of Opposition and AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami slammed the DMK government for the incident and alleged it failed to properly make arrangements for such a significant event and conveyed his condolences to the bereaved.

“My deepest condolences to the bereaved families. The state government earlier informed that arrangements have been made for transportation and basic facilities. However, since the police force was inadequate to regulate, people were put to severe hardships. In many cities of the country, such events went off well. But the loss of lives in Chennai is very unfortunate. I condemn the Stalin government for failing to provide proper security for this event,” Palaniswami said in a statement.

Tamil Nadu BJP chief Annamalai also slammed the government, saying it didn’t make proper arrangements. On X, he wrote, “I was shocked to hear that five people died due to crowding and more than 200 people were injured and admitted to the hospital for treatment during the IAF air show program held at Chennai Marina Beach. The only reason for this is that the DMK government has not taken care of the safety of the public without providing basic facilities and adequate transport arrangements for the public who came to witness the IAF air show.”

He added that the tragedy could not be passed off as an “accident” and the complete failure of Stalin’s administration was to blame for it.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian stated that the government government had provided facilities beyond what was requested by the Indian Air Force.