Celebrations descended into chaos and finally tragedy as 11 people lost their lives and more than 30 were left injured outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium while trying to join a party inside the venue to honour Royal Challengers Bengaluru's IPL triumph in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
However, the felicitation of the players went ahead nonetheless as the stadium was packed to the rafters despite the chaos.
Much like Tuesday night when the team's win in Ahmedabad triggered a street party in the Garden City, Wednesday, saw lakhs converge at the Chinnaswamy stadium, leaving the police outnumbered and struggling to take control of the situation.
The men in uniform tried to use mild force to disperse the crowd or to at least bring some order but that did little to discourage people, many of whom could be seen pressed against the stadium's entrance gate, desperate to get in.
Just before the unfortunate event, visuals showed some fans climbing over the Chinnaswamy Stadium walls and fences.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah revealed that 11 had died and 33 were injured "due to stampede near Chinnaswamy Stadium."
"More than 2-3 lakh people came near Chinnaswamy Stadium, no one expected this crowd," Siddaramaiah said.
"Most of the deceased in RCB celebrations are youth. Government will provide Rs 10 lakh compensation to kin of deceased," he added, while declaring that there will be a magisterial inquiry into the incident.
The injured are being treated at the nearby Vydehi hospital and Bowering hospital.
"Crowd was uncontrollable, police was finding it difficult, so we had to stop procession," Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said while speaking about the tragedy because of which a planned victory parade could not take place.
The political slugfest also started soon enough with the opposition BJP targetting the Congress-led government for not handling the situation properly.
Visuals on social media showed police shifting the injured persons and those who fell unconscious in ambulances to nearby hospitals.
Some visuals also showed those who were in an unconscious state being administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) by people nearby.
According to a traffic advisory from the Bengaluru police, entry to Chinnaswamy Stadium was limited to only those with valid tickets and passes.
"As there is limited parking facility available near the Chinnaswamy Stadium, those who are attending the event are advised to use public transport and Metro. The public is requested to cooperate," it had said.
Fans lined up the streets and thronged the Chinnaswamy stadium to catch a glimpse of the stars, including the talismanic Virat Kohli.
The much-anticipated open-top bus parade, which was allowed to proceed by Siddaramaiah from Vidhana Soudha to the stadium, could not take place as crowd became unmanageable for the police.
The Bengaluru Traffic Police had already discouraged such a plan citing the congestion on the route.
But outside the Chinnaswamy stadium, fans jostled to sneak inside and it ultimately turned into a tragedy.
The rainy weather in the city didn't help. The police had already endured a torrid time managing the crowd that flooded the streets to celebrate the triumph on Tuesday night.
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