20 people hurt in stampede at Covid vaccination camp in Jalpaiguri

Among the victims, four women who are serious, have been shifted to the district hospital here

The stampede occurred after a huge crowd of beneficiaries gathered at a vaccination centre in Jalpaiguri.: Twitter/@kkrao3107K

TT Correspondent   |   Jalpaiguri   |   01.09.21: Around 20 persons, mostly women, got injured in a stampede at a Covid-19 vaccination camp underway at a high school in Banarhat block of Jalpaiguri district on Tuesday.

Among the injured, four women who are serious, have been shifted to the district hospital here.

 The district magistrate Moumita Godara Basu has ordered an inquiry and police are probing the incident.

Sources said on Tuesday morning, hundreds had come to Duramari Chandrakanta High School for vaccination as announced by the block administration earlier.

However, owing to some “communication gap", school authorities had kept the main gate closed. When the gate opened suddenly, residents rushed, leading to the stampede, said a source.

Around 20 people were injured.

Some locals rushed for help and took the injured for treatment to a primary health centre. Some were taken to the state general hospital in Birpara and later, four of them, all women, were shifted to the district hospital here.

Moumita Godara Basu, the district magistrate of Jalpaiguri, said the BDO of Banarhat has been asked to visit the spot and file a report on Wednesday.

“All arrangements were made and even then such an incident happened. We are conducting a detailed inquiry,” she said.