A probe team led by Thrikkakkara Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) will probe into the stampede that occurred during a music programme at the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) campus which claimed four lives on Saturday.
The Police have registered a case of unnatural death on Saturday after recording the witnesses’ statements. Senior police officers said that lapses in the programme arrangements led to the tragedy. The Probe team is likely to book the organisers in the case.
Four people lost their lives in the stampede that occurred during a music programme organised in connection with the Tech Fest at the School of Engineering at Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) on Saturday. Around 60 people sustained injuries in the stampede.
The incident occurred during a music concert led by Nikhita Gandhi that was held in an open-air auditorium at the campus. Among the dead, three are students of CUSAT- Sarah Thomas from Korangad near Thamassery in Kozhikode, Atul Thambi from Koothatukulama and Ann Rufta from North Paravur. The other deceased person, Albin Joseph, a native of Mundoor in Palakkad, was a former student of the CUSAT.
The stampede occurred when students rushed inside the music hall following a sudden downpour. The programme was held in the open-air auditorium. As it rained, those standing outside rushed into the auditorium, resulting in a stampede.
Meanwhile, the post-mortem report of four people who died in the stampede during the music programme at CUSAT says suffocation as the main cause of the death. The post-mortem report said that they suffered lung injuries leading to asphyxiation. The report states that they experienced difficulty in breathing due to lung injury and that there were injuries to their neck and chest.