CUSAT tragedy: People rushing into auditorium led to accident, says report

KOCHI: The report of the syndicate sub-committee appointed by the vice chancellor said the cause of the accident was after the students and people from outside rushed to watch the programme of the Kochi University of Science and Technology (CUSAT). The celebrations on the second day of the Techfest organized after the Covid break, ended in the disaster.

There were more than 3000 people in the auditorium. The people present said the students were trapped in the open auditorium where the stage was below and the seats were arranged as a gallery above. Students crowded to watch the ganamela of singer Nikhita Gandhi. The gates were closed before the programme started.

When it started raining, people waiting outside rushed into the auditorium to take shelter, leading to the stampede. In the melee, the gate broke and this caused the students to fall and those behind fell on top of them and rolled down. Hundreds of students fell down. The students said that those behind did not know that those in front had fallen.

Sources at the medical college hospital revealed that the death occurred due to kicking and suffocation. Although the dead were not seriously injured, their internal organs were severely damaged. Students from all departments were present.

As they were inside the campus, there was a delay in getting the vehicles to take the injured to the hospital. The students started the rescue operation by calling the vehicles that came from outside. The injured were rushed to the nearby medical college. All four had lost their lives before reaching there.