Tamil Nadu tragedy: Children among 31 feared dead in stampede at Vijay’s Karur rally

Tamil Nadu stampede: At least 31 people, including children are feared dead in a stampede that occurred at actor-politician Vijay’s political rally in Tamil Nadu’s Karur on Saturday evening. According to media reports, a stampede occurred at a rally organized by the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), a political outfit floated by Tamil superstar Vijay, in Karur, where thousands had gathered to catch a glimpse of the famous actor.

More casualties feared, says police

According to local media reports, more than 30,000 people had gathered at the rally venue where they awaited Vijay’s arrival. Fans and supporters of Vijay waited for over six hours for the the actor-politician to arrive, NDTV reported. Police fear the number of casualties is likely to go up as about 500 people have already been hospitalized while at least 400 more are being brought in, the report said.

#WATCH | Tamil Nadu: A large number of people attended the campaign of TVK (Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam) chief and actor Vijay in Karur

A stampede-like situation reportedly occurred here. Several people fainted and were taken to a nearby hospital. More details are awaited.… pic.twitter.com/4f2Gyrp0v5

— ANI (@ANI) September 27, 2025

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has asked Karur district secretary V Senthilbalaji to monitor the situation, while Health Minister M Subramaniyan has rushed to the incident site, as per reports.

“The news coming from Karur is worrying. I have asked for immediate medical treatment to the public who were admitted to hospital after they fainted due to the stampede,” Stalin posted on X.

What happened at Vijay’s rally?

More than 30,000 people had gathered at the TVK rally in Tamil Nadu’s Karur and waited for over six hours before the party’s chief and famous actor Vijay arrived at the venue. The actor-politician addressed the overcrowded rally as the crowd began to swell to catch a glimpse of the superstar.

However, tragedy unfolded when several people fainted due to overcrowding leading to a stampede-like situation, as Vijay abruptly ended his address after witnessing the commotion. TVK workers raised an alarm and along with Vijay threw water bottles at the crowd from the actor’s campaign bus as the situation worsened.

Ambulances arrived at the scene and took away scores of people  who fainted in the stampede to nearby hospitals. However, paramedics faced a hard time to reach the incident site due to heavily crowded streets, according to news agency PTI.

At least 20 people, including children, are feared dead in the stampede, while the ruling DMK has accused Vijay of “negligence” and called for his arrest.