Four students dead in stampede at tech festival in Cusat

At least four students were killed and 61 were injured in a stampede at an auditorium on the main campus of the Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) where a tech fest was concluding on Saturday. Two of the injured are reported to be serious.

The incident occurred around 7.30 p.m. just before the start of a concert by playback singer Nikhita Gandhi. The auditorium was already packed with over a 1,000 students. Hundreds of students who were waiting outside the auditorium rushed in when there was a sudden downpour and they fell upon those who were standing on the steps leading to the auditorium below.

While the authorities at the Government Medical College Hospital, Ernakulam, confirmed the death of four students, more details were not immediately available. Forty-six injured students were admitted to the MCH, and 15 to Kinder Hospital in the vicinity.