SURYAPET: Over 80 people were injured, six of them seriously, when a gallery collapsed during the 47th National Sub-junior Kabaddi Tournament at the District Police Grounds in Suryapet on Monday.
There were more than 1,000 participants who arrived from across the country to take part in the tournament. At about 6.30 pm, a few minutes after the opening ceremony started, one of the three galleries set up for the spectators collapsed. Spectators seated in the gallery were cheering the players. As the ceremony progressed, the gallery suddenly came crashing down.
Panic gripped everyone and a stampede ensued which in fact led to more number people sustaining injuries. For some time, there was utter chaos and no one knew how many were injured and how many were still trapped under the metal work of the gallery.
Caught unawares, the organisers too could not act immediately. When the police arrived, the scene looked frightening, with the injured persons lying on the ground writhing in pain. Meanwhile, medical teams arrived and shifted the injured persons to a nearby hospital.
According to preliminary reports, there were around 1,200 people seated in the gallery at the time of the tragedy. "The fall could be due to the structural defects in the temporary structure. More details would come out as investigation progresses," said Suryapet SP R Bhaskaran.
He added that a case would be registered against the organisers of the tournament who are National Kabaddi Federation. Local logistic support was extended by the State and district bodies. Energy Minister G Jagadish Reddy, who was to inaugurate the programme, rushed to the spot immediately and monitored the rescue operations.
The Minister instructed doctors to provide the best treatment to the injured. He visited the victims at the hospital. In addition to the District Hospital, private hospitals in Suryapet town and those in neighbouring Narketpally and some in Hyderabad admitted the injured and treatment is going on. On the instructions of the Minister, members of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) are also extending assistance to the injured.
Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan expressed shock over the “tragic incident” at the 47th National Kabaddi Championship. “I wish and pray for the early recovery of all the injured people,” she said.