Kolkata: The stampede at a Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata on Saturday night claimed 19 lives, including members of the same family, childhood friends, and a father-son duo from Bihar.
Heavy rain drove large numbers of people towards the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal, triggering a rush that ended in the deadly stampede.
Among the victims were Abhishek Srivastav, 38, from Muzaffarpur in Bihar, and his seven-year-old son, Ayans Kumar Srivastav. Abhishek had long wanted to witness the grandeur of Durga Puja in Kolkata, but the trip ended in tragedy.
A senior official said the victims were from Kolkata and several neighbouring districts, including Howrah, Hooghly, Nadia, Purba Bardhaman, and North and South 24 Parganas.
The dead also included two childhood friends, a mother and her teenage son, and a middle-aged couple. Many had travelled from Kolkata’s suburbs and neighbouring districts to take part in the festivities.
According to reports, autopsies of the 19 bodies were completed on Sunday itself. Asphyxia due to intense pressure on the chest was the likely cause of death for most of the victims, a senior health department official said.
The reports also noted signs of serious internal injuries in some of the victims, with damage to vital organs such as the lungs, stomach, liver and pancreas, as well as the head.
Some sustained fractures to their arms and legs, along with intracranial haemorrhage and multiple injuries, the official said.
According to him, the preliminary reports have cited "traumatic asphyxia due to chest compression" as the suspected cause of death in most cases.
The condition occurs when excessive pressure on the chest prevents the lungs from expanding normally, resulting in breathing difficulties and, in severe cases, death.
"Seven of the deceased suffered asphyxia along with injuries to multiple organs. In at least six cases, fractured ribs had penetrated the lungs, apparently due to intense compression in the packed crowd," the official told PTI.
Eighteen post-mortems were conducted at the Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital while another was done at the Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital, he said.
According to the preliminary reports, ruptured internal organs and bleeding, a condition medically described as "visceral rupture and haemorrhage", led to deaths.
Barnali Haldar, a Class 11 student, and her close friend Tania Biswas were among those killed. The two had been friends since childhood.
The friends had initially planned to visit Durga Puja pandals in Salt Lake but later changed their plans to central and north Kolkata.
A family member said Tania’s mother had generally been reluctant to let her daughter go out alone but had made an exception on this occasion. The family is now struggling to come to terms with her death.
According to relatives, Tania had left home saying she would visit pandals in Salt Lake. Her family was unaware that she had gone to Chorbagan.
Tagar Bej, 37, and her son Sandeep Bej, 14, from Purba Bardhaman, were also among the victims.
The stampede also claimed the lives of Baranagar residents Dilip Ghosh, 59, and his wife, Dipali Ghosh, whose age was reported as either 45 or 46.
The following names and locations were provided in the victim list: