Stampede during a political meeting for the popular actor Vijay in South India kills 36, injures 40

New Delhi – A rush during a meeting for a popular Indian actor and politician in the southern state of Tamil Nadu killed at least 36 people and wounded 40 others, said the Minister of Health at the end of Saturday.

Ma Subramanian told The Associated Press that the victims were dead by the time they were taken to a hospital and that the wounded were stable. The dead include eight children, Subramanian said.

The rally, of which civil servants say he was attended by tens of thousands of people, was tackled by Vijay, one of the most successful actors of Tamil Nadu who became the politician in the Karur district.

Indian media reports, who quoted local officials, said Vijay spoke with the rising crowd, a group of his supporters and fans fell as he tried to get close to his bus, causing the rush. Proponents had gathered during the political meeting in the midst of intense hot temperatures and Vijay arrived hours late, said officials.

“There was indiscipline,” Subramanian said at the rally, adding that an investigation had been ordered.

With a quote from civil servants, the press confidence of the India news agency reported that at least 30 people fainted while Vijay spoke the rally from the top his campaign vehicle and in ambulances, refugees to hospitals in the area was. He stopped his speech halfway when workers got the alarm after they notice that people fainted and fell, it said, adding that while they were removed from hospitals, Vijay continued his speech.

However, he ended his speech shortly after he detected an abnormal situation in a part of the huge meeting, the news agency said.

Hours after the accident, Vijay offered his participation.

“My heart is crushed,” he placed on X. “I wriggled in unbearable, indescribable pain and sorrow those words cannot express.”

Family members of people who were killed in a rush during a meeting for a popular Indian actor and politician, mourning the bodies from a hospital, in Karur, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, Sunday 28 September 2025.

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The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the “unfortunate incident” “was deeply sad”.

My thoughts are with the families who have lost their loved ones. Strength for them in this difficult time. Praying for a quick recovery for everyone who was injured, “he said on social media.

In South Indian states, in particular Tamil Nadu, some movie stars have a larger one than the lifestatus, rooted in the old Tamil culture of heroicing and image bidding. Many have become politicians and some have even received the divine status.

In 2024, Vijay withdrew from Actteren and launched his own political party. It was unclear whether he intends to go to the office in the state of Tamil Nadu.

Stampedes are relatively common in India when large crowds gather. At least 30 people were killed in January because tens of thousands of Hindus rushed to bathe in a holy river during the Maha Kumbh festival, the world’s greatest religious meeting.