Over 100 Wounded as Temporary Gallery Collapse at Kabaddi Tournament in India (+Video)

There were more than 1,000 participants who arrived from across the country to take part in the tournament. At about 6.30 pm, a few minutes after the opening ceremony started, one of the three galleries set up for the spectators collapsed. Spectators seated in the gallery were cheering the players. As the ceremony progressed, the gallery suddenly came crashing down, New Indian Express reported.

Panic gripped everyone and a stampede ensued which in fact led to more number people sustaining injuries. For some time, there was utter chaos and no one knew how many were injured and how many were still trapped under the metal work of the gallery.

Caught unawares, the organizers too could not act immediately. When the police arrived, the scene looked frightening, with the injured persons lying on the ground writhing in pain. Meanwhile, medical teams arrived and shifted the injured persons to a nearby hospital.

According to preliminary reports, there were around 1,200 people seated in the gallery at the time of the tragedy. "The fall could be due to the structural defects in the temporary structure. More details would come out as investigation progresses," said Suryapet SP R Bhaskaran.

He added that a case would be registered against the organizers of the tournament who are National Kabaddi Federation. Local logistic support was extended by the State and district bodies. The Indian Energy Minister G Jagadish Reddy, who was to inaugurate the program, rushed to the spot immediately and monitored the rescue operations.