2022: Year that stampedes shocked the world

The year 2022 saw many big challenges such as a surge in Covid cases, and the demise of famous personalities like Queen Elizabeth II, Cyrus Mistry, and more. One such incident was Stampede.

There are incidents when overcrowding can lead to the demise of people. Sometimes due to suffocation or sometimes due to panicking.

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But can that overcrowding turn into a horrific incident? Yes, it can.

Here are the top stampedes which shocked people and governments of not only one but three countries:

Indonesia stampede

People visit football stadiums to enjoy the match but can that ground become the worst moment of their lives, who knew?

In the early days of October 2022, a stampede incident was reported from Indonesia. More than 120 people were dead when supporters from the losing team invaded the pitch and in an order to disperse the crowd, authorities fired tear gas, leading to a crowd stampede and cases of suffocation.

The incident occurred at the Kanjuruhan stadium in Malang, East Java on a Saturday evening.

This was the one such incident which rocked the Indonesian government and police officials.

The Indonesian government also expressed regret for the disaster. Earlier there were reports, that around 175 people have died in the stampede. But once the official figures were out, only 125 people were reported dead in the incident that occurred at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Indonesia's Malang.

Apart from more than a hundred people being killed, hundreds of fans also sustained injuries.

Supporters of Arema invaded the pitch following the team's 3-2 defeat against bitter rivals Persebaya Surabaya, who clashed with police officials prompting them to use tear gas shots to control the crowd inside the stadium.

The use of tear gas lead fans to panic and got suffocated trying to flee through the narrow exit gates.

A series of photos and videos from the stampede was shared on social media platforms creating a big buzz. Indonesian authorities and the PSSI have also faced mounting questions and criticism over the incident.

South Korea Halloween stampede

Halloween is a festival which is celebrated across the globe. People dress up in costumes and party the whole night long. But can an evening of celebration be turned into a disaster, no one knew.

On October 30, more than 150 people died in a deadly Halloween stampede reported in South Korea’s capital Seoul.

Family members were asked to collect the bodies of their loved ones on the same night the incident happened. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol had declared Seoul's Itaewon district a disaster zone.

The stampede mainly killed teenagers and young adults in their 20s. South Korean actor and singer Lee Ji Han was also killed in the horrific Halloween crowd surge in the nation’s capital Seoul. The actor was just 24 years old when he died.

“Citizens from at least two dozen countries were among the dead,'' as per Reuters.

People from across the country paid tribute to those who were killed in the horrific incident. A national mourning period was also announced by President Yoon.

"A tragedy and disaster that should not have happened took place in the heart of Seoul last night,” said South Korean President.

Choi Sung-beom, head of the Yongsan Fire Station, told a briefing that amongst the read, 22 were foreigners.

India stampedes

1. Morbi bridge collapse

In India, overcrowding of a newly renovated cable bridge in the Morbi district of western Gujarat state led to its collapse, leading to at least 133 deaths.

The collapse happened when a huge crowd gathered on the bridge. Most of the victims drowned when the bridge fell into the Machchhu river, which is around 300 km from the state capital Ahmedabad, on October 30, 2022.

Officials managed to rescue 177 people, averting a far bigger tragedy. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel expressed condolences and announced a cash help of $4900 (400,000 rupees) for the families of the deceased and $600 (49,000 rupees) for the injured.

The incident occurred at a time when people across the country were celebrating ‘Chhath Puja’.

After six months of renovation and spending an estimated cost of $243,000, the 15-year-old bridge was only opened on October 26 for Gujarati new year just four days before the incident happened.

2. Stampedes in Uttar Pradesh andRajasthan

If you are an Indian, you must have visited or added ‘Banke Bihari temple’ located in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh to your bucket list.

Temples are a place where everyone gets peace of mind and soul but what if that peace is turned into death?

With proper security installed at the temple, a shocking incident came to light when 2 people were reported dead in a stampede at a temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Vrindavan during Janmashtami celebrations.

Janmashtami is a festival in India, which is celebrated for the birth of ‘Lord Krishna’ across the county.

Devotees from across the country visited the temple just to take a glimpse of Lord Krishna (Banke Bihari).

It is being reported that the cause of death was suffocation due to the heavy rush present inside the temple.

Along with people across the country, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also expressed grief and he directed the officials to take necessary measures for the treatment of the injured.

According to reports, the police officials were present at the temple premises when the incident happened.

Uttar Pradesh government had constituted a committee to probe the incident of deaths at the Banke Bihari temple.

Not only this, another temple of Lord Krishna in Rajasthan’s Sikar district, ‘Khatu Shyam temple’ had also reported the same incident. Amongst the 3 dead, a 63-year-old woman with a history of heart ailment collapsed as soon as the gates of the temple were opened.

As the year 2022 comes to an end, people are still mourning the death of their loved ones that happened during these incidents.