 "Chennai IAF Air Show 2024 mishap: Poor planning or dehydration to blame?")
The highly-anticipated air show turned deadly when around 5 people lost their lives and 300 were hospitalised during the Indian Air Force's 92nd anniversary celebrations at Marina Beach in Chennai.
The first air show in Chennai in more than 20 years drew lakhs of people to the venue. However, attendees claim there was poor crowd management, a lack of traffic planning, and inadequate public transportation, despite allegations claiming the deaths were caused by extreme exhaustion and dehydration. So what exactly went wrong? How did the air show turn so tragic for the onlookers?
IAF Chennai air show 2024: What was the aerial display all about?
On Sunday, October 6, with the event set to start at 11.30 am, more than 10 lakh people gathered at Marina beach as early as 7 am to get a place to sit.
The Indian Air Force held the air show at Marina Beach in Chennai to celebrate its 92nd anniversary. Nearly 72 aircraft participated in the event, including the highly valued Rafale jets, Tejas, and SU-30.
When the Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jet performed the daring "Loop-tumble-yaw" manoeuvres and released flares, the crowd that couldn’t hold back the excitement and the cheers, and claps reverberated across the place. To captivate the audience, the Suryakiran team also took to the skies.
With the theme "Saksham, Sashakta, Amtanirbhar," the "Made in India" Light Combat Aircraft Tejas and Light Combat Helicopter Prachand also participated in the aerial display. The crowds were also enthralled by the brilliant display of Sarang helicopter performance.
This was one of the largest air shows ever performed, according to a press release, and it was also set to make it to the Limca Book of World Records.
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Eager to see the performance, families with little children and the elderly arrived by buses, metros, trains, and private vehicles. Thousands of people arrived at the location unprepared, while many others arrived with drinking water and umbrellas.
IAF Chennai air show 2024: Unfolding of the tragedy
After the show ended on Sunday afternoon, huge swarms of people started leaving the beach amid the hot and humid weather. In the mayhem, around five people fainted and died, and about 100 more had to be taken to the hospital. John Babu (56), Dinesh, Karthikeyan (34), and Srinivasan (48) have been identified as the deceased people.
Police said that V Karthikeyan, who lives in Thiruvottiyur's RMV Nagar, attended the air show with his wife and son, who is two years old. After the ceremony, Karthikeyan fainted near the INS Adyar front gate when they were walking along Rajaji Road. After being sent to the Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital (RGGH), he was declared dead.
John, a 56-year-old Korukkupet resident, fainted next to Kamarajar Salai's Parthasarathy arch. At the same location, Srinivasan from Perungalathur also fainted. According to the police, both were taken in an ambulance to the Government Omandurar Multispeciality hospital, but to no avail. On Marina Beach, the police also discovered another individual, whom they subsequently identified as Dinesh Kumar.
Numerous others, around 300 of them, had to be admitted to the hospital after experiencing dehydration and experiencing heat strokes. After obtaining the required medical assistance, they were released.
IAF Chennai air show 2024: Was it too much heat, overcrowding or poor management?
Many point out that the venue's overcrowding was the cause of the fatal incident and the deaths and injuries that followed. There was a stampede-like situation as the lakhs of people who had gathered there tried to leave all at once after the event ended in the afternoon.
People were stranded for over 40 minutes in the scorching sun at blocked exit points. According to officials, the tragedy occurred because some people broke over the barricades in a panic attempt to escape the heat of the sun.
The chaotic scenes of people attempting to crawl out of the venue were described by witnesses at the scene, describing it as being “like a sea of people.” One spectator remarked, "It was like a sea of humanity. We were stuck for over two hours and it was impossible to move."
The lack of proper planning by the administration was also criticised by many in the crowd, and videos of ambulances becoming stranded in the mob were widely shared on social media. Many people held the local administration responsible for being “ill-prepared” to handle the sea of people that had arrived to witness the air show.
Many social media users were seen commending the air force for conducting an exceptional air show, and impressing the audience with captivating air stunts. They, however, blamed the local administration for not being able to avert the tragedy and preventing deaths after the show was over.
Chennai air show 2024: After event
The inability of local authorities to adequately predict and control the crowd size has now drawn criticism. Emergency workers carried many people on stretches and gave them care in shelters after they fainted from exhaustion.
After the event, local trains, such as the MRTS and Metro, in addition to buses, were fully choked, and arterial roads, particularly those near the shore, were completely blocked.
People crowded the bus stop at Anna Square, which is near the show venue. People had to go a long way to catch buses or get to train stations because of traffic restrictions.