Eleven people in India have died of heatstroke after a million people waited hours in the sun for a government-sponsored award ceremony, officials said.
About 20 people were taken to hospital and about 300 felt unwell during the event, which was held near the city of Bombay (west), when the temperature approached 38 degrees Celsius with high humidity levels, according to local media, reports Al-Rai daily.
Senior government officials attended the ceremony, including Home Minister Amit Shah, who praised the crowd for waiting hours in the sun.
In turn, the minister responsible for the state of Maharashtra, Aknat Shinde, described what happened as a “sad and disturbing incident”, pledging to provide compensation to the relatives of the victims.
And the ruling Indian Bharatiya Janata Party reported that about a million people attended the event, according to the newspaper, “The Indian Express”.
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