Expressing profound grief over the death of five persons at the Marina airshow at the Marina seafront here on Sunday to mark the 92nd anniversary of the Indian Air Force (IAF), Chief Minister MK Stalin has announced a solatium of Rs 5lakh each to the families of the deceased.

He also assured that additional care would be taken while holding major events in future to avoid any untoward development.

“I was struck with grief over the loss of five precious lives due to sweltering heat and other medical reasons. It is an irreparable loss to the families of the deceased and I extend my condolences to them. I have ordered the release of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of the victims from the Chief Minister’s general relief fund,” he said in an official release on Monday.

Refuting the criticism that adequate arrangements were not in place, the CM said “Proper arrangements were in place than what the IAF had requested. Because of the coordinated works carried out by the Police, Fire and Rescue Services, Health Department and the Greater Chennai Corporation, a stampede was averted despite people converging in large numbers than expected. However, the huge crowd which witnessed the airshow faced severe problems in accessing their vehicles and public transport after the event was over.”

With Stalin coming under attack from the Opposition and two key allies – Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and the CPI(M) – demanding a high-level inquiry on this issue, the Congress has played it safe. “The spectacular airshow was a creditable performance but the loss of lives was unfortunate,” party’s veteran and former Union Minister P Chidambaram told the media at Sivaganga.

“It has now emerged that the deaths were not due to a stampede but because of health complications,” he added and hoped that the state government would provide compensation to the families of the deceased.

In a related development, the state Home Secretary Dheeraj Kumar has directed the police to submit a detailed report on the Marina tragedy. This followed a high level meeting which discussed the issue.