TN stampede: Emoor village mourns loss of four residents

Karur (Tamil Nadu), Sep 29 (PTI) A veil of gloom has settled over the Emoor Puthur village, about eight km from here, as four of the 41 victims of the devastating stampede at Velusamypuram on September 27 were from the village.

A teen son, who got separated from his mother in the crowd, had a providential escape when he decided to return home when the crowd started jostling him.

"My mother and I went to see actor Vijay, but she never returned," says Sathya.

"We went in the morning when there was no crowd. There was no food to eat. The crowd increased in the evening. My mother got caught in the crowd, and I was pushed back," he said.

Since he was on the edge of the road, he gave up attempts to proceed further, and decided to return home. But his mother, Chandra, in her early forties, got lost in the crowd, he said.

"I searched for my mother but could not find her. Later, my elder brother went to the Government Hospital and found her dead," Sathya, a ninth standard student, said.

"I told her not to go, but she went. After hearing the news about the swelling crowd, I rushed to Velusamypuram and brought her home. But she went again to see Vijay," says Kaliappan, whose wife Arukkani, 60, died in the stampede.

He became worried as she did not return late in the night. "Then I got a message on WhatsApp in the night asking me to come to GH. I went and identified her," he said.

K Sakthivel, from the village, lost his wife and 14-year-old daughter, who wanted to see the actor. PTI JSP JSP ROH