Several people are feared dead and many more injured in a stampede outside a cricket stadium in the southern Indian state of Karnataka to celebrate the home team’s victory in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the world’s most popular Twenty20 cricket tournament.

The incident took place on Wednesday as thousands of fans gathered outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in the state capital, Bengaluru.

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The Times of India newspaper reported that at least seven people had died. Local TV news channels showed footage of police shifting the injured and those who fell unconscious to ambulances.

DK Shivakumar, the deputy chief minister of Karnataka, told reporters that “the crowd was very uncontrollable”.

The event was being held to celebrate Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s first IPL title win on Tuesday.

Stampedes often happen in India when large crowds gather. In January, at least 30 people were killed as tens of thousands of Hindu devotees rushed to bathe in a sacred river during the Maha Kumbh festival, the world’s largest religious gathering.

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