Air show victims’ kin blame lack of amenities, heat for deaths

A million-and-a-half people packed into a beach under the unfettered sun in the suffocating October heat for several hours with no access to drinking water – a perfect storm of unseemly weather and administrative lapses coalesced in Chennai on Sunday, when five people died and nearly 100 were hospitalised following the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) air show at the Marina Beach.

“It was estimated that 15 lakh people would attend and arrangements were made accordingly. 40 ambulances were readied for medical assistance and emergency response at the site,” health minister M Subramanian said on Monday, seeming to insist that the state administration had taken adequate steps before the event.

Apart from paramedical staff at the site, “A total of 100 beds and 65 doctors at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital were prepared for any emergency. Around 7500 police personnel were deployed.”

The victims were identified as V Karthikeyan, D John, Srinivasan, Mani and Dinesh, all residents of Chennai.

The muggy Chennai weather catalysed the crisis.

The India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) Meenambakkam weather station, around 7km away, recorded a maximum temperature of 34.3°C, a degree over normal and a relative humidity of 80%, with the two combining for a steep wet-bulb value of 31.26°C — a level at which prolonged exposure to the heat, such as attendees at the IAF event were subject to, can be fatal.

A higher wet bulb temperature makes it difficult for people to remain outside, let alone work outdoors and experts say readings above 30°C can trigger heat strokes and severe dehydration.

Several people who attended the air show underscored that the arrangements were inadequate and were a key trigger for the tragedy.

Chandramohan, a software engineer who attended the event, said there was no water supply at the function despite the hot and humid weather, adding that he saw people faint due to the heat and dehydration.

“Of everything, the worst was the exit after the event. Roads were choked…Buses got stuck too,” he said.

People began trickling into the venue at 7am, though the air show was slated to take place from 11am to 1pm. As a result, visitors were squeezed onto the crowded beach and subject to the hot sea breeze under the blazing sun for more than six hours.

Karthikeyan’s wife said they reached the venue with their daughter around 10.30am. But, since it was already crowded, they didn’t step onto the beach and waited on the road, she said

After the event, at 1.30pm, Karthikeyan asked the two to wait while he brought his two-wheeler from the parking lot.

“But he didn’t return for two hours. I kept trying his phone for two hours, but couldn’t reach him. Then, a stranger took the call and said he had vomited and fainted near Napier bridge (at the northern fringe of the Marina Beach),” she said.

“I asked a police officer for help and he took us there. My husband was not responding. His shirt was caked in vomit and his eyes were only partially open,” she said.

Visitors recounted the scene from local train and Metro stations, where people crowded onto packed platforms and compartments in the thousands. Several people pointed out that the train and Metro frequencies should have been dialled up to keep up with the crowd size, especially when authorities anticipated the crowds.

“Railways should have known the importance of MRTS and run extra services during high demand days,” said K Renuka, a spectator who had to return home to south Chennai. The city’s metro rail registered an unprecedented ridership of 400,000 on Sunday.

Others pointed to abysmal traffic management.

“It took three hours to cover the one-kilometre stretch that runs by the beach,” said K Venkat, one of the attendees.

Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin attributed the deaths to “extreme heat and various medical reasons” and said that although agencies coordinated to avoid crowding, the number of people was “much higher than expected”.

“Next time such big events are organised, more attention and arrangements will be made,” he said in a statement.

However, the incidents kicked off a political storm, with the opposition All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) targeting the state government.

“It is the state government’s fault. The chief minister should take responsibility,” said leader of opposition and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami.

“It was very unfortunate that the Tamil Nadu government, the Chennai corporation, and the Chennai police did not cooperate with the public,” said BJP spokesperson Narayanan Thirupathy.

“It is most unfortunate that there was mis-administration, the worst traffic arrangements, it ended in loss of five lives. Few hundreds were admitted to hospital. There was flood of people, which was not expected at all. There was no planning by police. This is lacklustre attitude of the government.”