Awards ceremony turns to tragedy in India as 11 die and hundreds hospitalised with heatstroke

Crowd of thousands gathers in peak afternoon heat without any shelter or water

People attend an award function during a hot day on the outskirts of Mumbai on 16 April (REUTERS)

A massive, open air award function attended by thousands in western India led to the deaths of 11 people from heatstroke and hospitalisation of hundreds of others.

India is in the midst of a searing summer season that leads to a disruption of lives and livelihoods for scores of its citizens every year.

The government-run ceremony, that took place in western Maharashtra state, went on from early morning until the afternoon on Sunday – when temperatures in the area soared to a scorching 38C.

Thousands had gathered at a large open ground for the Maharashtra Bhushan Award event held to honour a popular local social activist in Navi Mumbai, a city adjacent to Mumbai, India’s financial hub.

It was attended by top political leaders, including Maharashtra’s chief minister Eknath Shinde, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, and India’s home minister Amit Shah.

While there were two tents to shelter VIPs, ordinary people who attended the event were left vulnerable and exposed to the heat.

The two tents at the large ground catered only to politicians, government officials and the media, reported news portal The Wire.

While the event officially began at 11.30am local time and continued until 1pm, some reports said people had been present there from 8am.

Reports also said several people were brought in for the event from different states as a show of power by the government.

The lack of adequate measures to protect against the heat proved to be fatal. The chief minister had earlier said that “7-8 people have died today, while 24 are being treated. This is a case of sunstroke”.

“As per the briefing received from doctors, 7-8 people have died today, while 24 are being treated,” Mr Shinde had told reporters on Sunday while coming out from a hospital where several of the attendees were admitted. “This is a case of sunstroke.”

As of Monday, the number of deaths stood at 11 with “hundreds” of people hospitalised for urgent medical care.

Doctors also fear the death toll can rise as some of those hospitalised are said to be in a critical condition with cardiac issues, according to The Times of India.

The government has announced a compensation of Rs 500,000 (£5,000) to the families of those who died, while the deputy chief minister said the government will pay for the treatment of those suffering from heat-related illnesses.

Members of opposition parties have slammed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party state government for choosing the wrong time to hold the event and called it “negligent and careless behaviour”.

Two of the state’s senior opposition leaders – Sharad Pawar from the opposition Nationalist Congress Party and former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray – met some of the victims in the hospital.

In this photo taken on 16 April, people gather to attend an award ceremony on the outskirts of Mumbai (AFP via Getty Images)

They said there was no clarity on the number of people who suffered heatstrokes and those who died.

They also accused the government of trying to hide the number of casualties.

“What happened during the award ceremony was out of negligent and careless behaviour,” Mr Pawar was quoted as saying to the Indian Express newspaper.

“The government made a mistake while choosing the time for the function at noon when it was so hot. Innocent people have lost their lives.”

“So far, exactly how many people have lost their lives, or are injured and discharged has not come to the fore. The numbers are being hidden,” he said.

People gather to attend an award ceremony that led to the deaths of 11 people on the outskirts of Mumbai (AFP via Getty Images)

The incident has raised concerns about rising temperatures in parts of India with worse anticipated ahead, according to a heatwave warning recently issued by the Indian Meteorological Department.

Prolonged exposure to direct heat can cause dehydration, hyponatremia, heat exhaustion and heatstroke.

India’s heatwaves are set to become more frequent and extreme as the average global temperature rises due to man-made global heating, said an assessment by the UN’s top scientific body on the climate crisis, the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change.

India experienced its hottest February on record this year, with above-normal rainfall in March helping keep temperatures in check.

There are fears of temperatures rising to dangerous levels once again, after the subcontinent witnessed the devastating impacts of record-breaking heat last year.

An assessment from the World Weather Attribution in 2022 found the climate crisis made extreme heatwaves last year “30 times more likely”.