When the rumor of terrorist attack in 'Statue of Unity', there was a stampede among the tourists present in the complex

 

Various agencies on Monday conducted a mock drill at the Statue of Unity in Ekta Nagar in Gujarat's Narmada district to assess the preparedness of security personnel and infrastructure management in case of a stampede due to a bomb hoax. An official release said the mock drill was jointly conducted by the District Disaster Branch, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and engineering conglomerate L&T under the supervision of Narmada Collector Shweta Tewatia. 

mock drill started this morning

On the one hand, the CISF handles the security of the Statue of Unity, a 182-metre tall statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, and the surrounding sites. While L&T has built this monument, which attracts thousands of visitors every day. The mock drill started at around 8:00 am, the release said. Under this, around 100 people, who were present in the premises of the Statue of Unity as tourists, panicked and started running towards the exit gates after learning about an abandoned bag and mistaking it for a terrorist attack. During this, one tourist fell unconscious on the floor, while two others suffered injuries due to the stampede. 

Tourists got licked in the stampede

The L&T response team brought these three tourists for first aid and also helped other stranded tourists to reach the ground floor using the lift. One seriously injured tourist was immediately taken to the hospital by ambulance, while others with minor injuries were given first aid by doctors at the monument, the release said. On receiving a message from the management through the control room, CISF personnel swung into action and pulled out around 100 other tourists and brought them safely to the assembly area. The personnel also checked every nook and corner of the monument, the release said.