Chennai, Oct 7 (IANS): After five people lost their lives and several were injured following exhaustion due to heavy crowds during an airshow here, opposition leader and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami has condemned the DMK government.

The opposition leader in a statement on Sunday night said the state government and police failed to properly coordinate the airshow organised by the Indian Air Force at Chennai on Sunday.

EPS said that the five who lost their lives faced acute exhaustion and even drinking water was not made available to them.

The AIADMK leader in the statement said, “My deepest condolences to the bereaved families. The State government earlier informed that arrangements have been made for transportation and basic facilities but the police force was inadequate to regulate, and people were put to severe hardships.“

He further said that in other cities of the country, where the Airshow was held earlier, such events went off well. "But the loss of lives in Chennai is very unfortunate. I condemn the Stalin government for failing to provide proper security for this event," EPS said.

The five people who lost their lives are identified as D. John of Korukappet, Karthikeyan of Tiruvattiyur, Srinivasan of Perungalathur, Mani of Marakkanam and Dinesh. They collapsed while returning from the event and were taken to the hospital where they were pronounced dead.

At least 43 people are admitted to Rajiv Gandhi Hospital here in Chennai.

City Police Commissioner M. Arun was not available for comments.

The October 6 airshow was held to commemorate the IAF’s 92nd anniversary and was the first such event in the capital city in over two decades. What was intended to be a spectacle ended in chaos as organisers and the authorities failed to manage the crowd. The widely publicised event attracted more than 12 lakh spectators to the sprawling Marina Beach.