An ambulance carrying Durga Puja Pandal stampede victims stops in front of the emergency building of Calcutta Medical College and Hospitalas relatives of Durga Puja Pandal stampede victims mourn in Kolkata on October 16, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
Kolkata: Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi addressed, in a short statement on Facebook, the tragedy that unfolded in the city of Kolkata in which at least 19 people were killed and two dozen more injured Saturday after a stampede occurred at a gathering.
"The stampede in Kolkata is saddening. Condolences to the bereaved families. Wishing the injured a speedy recovery," he wrote.
"The West Bengal Government is providing all possible help to the affected families."
West Bengal's Chief Minister Suvendhu Adhikari told reporters the fatalities included a seven-year-old girl, adding that 25 other people were injured outside a pavilion "in a stampede" at a festival in the city of Kolkata. "Six bodies have so far been identified," Adhikari said.
A senior police official at the scene told AFP an announcement caused "commotion" after it started raining at night and the "crowd waiting outside the pandal (pavilion) was pushing, pulling and rushing forward and fell on the ground, leading to the stampede."
Afterwards medics were seen moving injured people on stretchers, including a police officer, into a local hospital. Several relatives of victims cried and held one another as they mourned the loss of loved ones.
Adhikari originally announced 17 fatalities. The Press Trust of India (PTI) reported the death toll rose by two to 19, quoting Adhikari in a later statement.
