At least 15 people were rescued after a crowd crush near a Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata’s Chorbagan on Saturday night, while a middle-aged man died despite attempts to revive him, according to eyewitnesses quoted by Sangbad Pratidin. Local residents said temporary plywood decorations collapsed under pressure from visitors, trapping people near the exit gate.
The incident occurred beside the pandal on Bhuban Banerjee Lane. Nitesh Singh, Vicky Prasad, Ronik Singh and Abhishek Rai, who were sitting nearby, told the newspaper that they heard loud shouting from the direction of the outer gate. Within seconds, they reached the spot and found several people trapped, with only the upper parts of some bodies visible.
The residents said the crowd was unable to move freely and that people could not initially be pulled out. They began helping visitors by holding their hands and extracting them through whatever gaps became available. According to their account, some plywood used in the decoration broke under the pressure of the crowd, creating openings that made the rescue effort easier.
A seven-year-old girl was among those trapped and was brought out alive. The local residents also helped remove several injured people through the gates along Bhuban Banerjee Lane and Parbati Ghosh Lane towards Central Avenue. They placed those who could be moved into available vehicles and asked the drivers to take them to Medical College and Hospital.
Vicky Prasad said he tried to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation to a middle-aged man after rescuing him. He told Sangbad Pratidin that he had learnt how to perform chest compressions from YouTube. A doctor visiting the area later checked the man’s pulse and declared that he had died, according to the report.
The eyewitnesses said rescue efforts continued in the rain. Some injured visitors were seated inside local residential premises and given water. They described injuries including bleeding from the mouth, cuts to the head and torn clothing. The rescuers also collected mobile phones found at the site and handed them over to the police.
The account highlights the immediate challenges of managing dense crowds around temporary festival structures: restricted movement, pressure at exit points, fragile decorative installations and the need for clear emergency access. The supplied report does not provide details of the official casualty count, the identity of the deceased man, the cause of the crowd surge or any administrative action following the incident.
