Five died and nearly 100 were hospitalized at an IAF air show in Chennai as extreme heat and poor planning led to chaos and dehydration.
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.