Lakhs of people gathered to watch the Chennai Air Show at Marina Beach, five died; health of many people deteriorated
Chennai Air Show: An air show was organized at Marina Beach in Chennai on Sunday which was quite popular. A large number of people came to see it. But due to this, traffic jams were also created due to which people had to face a lot of problems. Meanwhile, two people also died in the chaos.
On Sunday, the Indian Air Force (IAF) air show was organized at the sandy Marina Beach. Being a holiday today, thousands of people were there at the beach making it very difficult to return home after the event. Police said that two people fell ill and died.
Hundreds of people crowded the nearby Lighthouse Metro Station and the Chennai MRTS train station in Velachery, which is the closest junction connecting Chintadripet to Marina, and many people were unable to find a spot to stand on the platform. Despite this, several people took the risk and traveled, while others missed their train.
AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami posted on the incident saying, "An aerial adventure event was organized in Chennai today to celebrate the might of the Indian Air Force on the occasion of its 92nd Foundation Day. Since its notification was published in advance, knowing that lakhs of people would come to participate, the Tamil Nadu government informed that arrangements have been made for transport and infrastructure."
He said, "However, today's event could not manage the administrative arrangement and crowd and traffic properly, as the police force is also inadequate to control it. It was shocking to hear that people are stuck in heavy traffic, drinking water is not available, and many people have been hospitalized due to heat stroke, and 5 people have died so far. This pains me a lot."
A crowd of people gathered at the bus stop at Anna Square near the aerial show venue. "Due to the stampede-like situation and heat at Marina, about a dozen people fainted and were treated at a government facility," a senior police official told PTI. He said police had to step in to clear traffic so that three ambulances could reach the hospital.
While returning home, two people fell sick, out of which one died at the government hospital, while another died near his bike at Anna Salai. Moreover, the official said about 35 people were hospitalized with symptoms of dehydration. Arterial roads from the Marina connecting various parts of the city were also hit by traffic jams with vehicles stranded for several minutes.
"I found it extremely difficult to take the MRTS train to Chintadripet as Velachery station was packed with people eager to watch the aerial display," K Sridhar of Velachery told the agency. Traffic was restored near Marina Beach about three hours after the air show by IAF jets ended at 1 pm, the police official said.
