Stampedes, fires and plane crash: A list of major tragedies India witnessed in 2025

India was witness to a series of major tragedies with over a dozen incidents claiming several lives in 2025. The accidents spanned multiple categories including transportation disasters, crowd crushes at religious and political events, industrial fires, infrastructure collapses, and one of the deadliest aviation disasters in the country’s history.

Almost halfway through the year, the country also faced a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam which led to a military confrontation with Pakistan via ‘Operation Sindoor’ in May 2025.

While investigations are under way in most of the cases, here’s a chronological list of the major incidents that occurred in the country this year:

1. Maha Kumbh stampede, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh (January 29, 2025)

At least 30 people were killed and over 60 other were injured in a stampede at the Maha Kumbh in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj in the wee hours of January 29. Barricades collapsed under the pressure of lakhs of pilgrims gathered on the Akhara Marg, leading to the trampling of devotees waiting to take a holy dip at Sangam on the auspicious occasion of Mauni Amavasya. Nearly 7 crore people performed the snan (holy dip) till 6 p.m that day, as per official figures.

While the State government’s official claim was of 37 deaths, aBBC News Hindi report said that at least 82 people were killed in four incidents of stampede at Maha Kumbh on January 29.

Probe: Uttar Pradesh government constituted a three-member judicial commission under the chairmanship of Justice Harsh Kumar, a former judge of the Allahabad High Court. Besides the task of ascertaining what led to the stampede, the commission was also asked to give suggestions to prevent recurrence of such incidents in future.

2. Jalgaon train tragedy, Maharashtra (January 22, 2025)

At least 12 people were killed on the evening of January 22 when they jumped down from the Lucknow-Mumbai Pushpak Express following rumours of a fire and were then hit by another train speeding down the adjacent track, in Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district.

The Maharashtra government announced an ex-gratia of ₹5 lakh for the families of the deceased. Seven victims were identified as Nepali migrant workers, for whom the Pushpak Express to Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) is an important connection, for employment.

Probe: Jalgaon District Collector Ayush Prasad dismissed reports of any spark or smoke as the fire brigade’s foam team was never used during the rescue operation. In the preliminary inquiry, it was found that after the Pushpak Express stopped, the driver activated the flasher light and applied the brakes as per rules. The curvature of the train was nearly two degrees, which obstructed visibility and reduced the distance for applying the brakes. Even people could not see the train coming. Pilots tried their best to avoid the incident, the Chief Public Relations Officer said.

3. New Delhi Railway Station stampede (February 15, 2025)

At least 18 people were killed and over 15 others injured in a stampede that broke out on February 15 night at the New Delhi Railway Station. The incident was preceded by a swell in crowd of passengers waiting to board trains for Prayagraj where the Maha Kumbh was under way.

An ex-gratia of ₹10 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased, an amount of ₹2.5 lakh each to the grievously injured and ₹1 lakh each to other injured has been paid.

Probe: In August, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told the Rajya Sabha that a big headload falling from one of the passengers triggered the stampede. In a written reply,  he shared the findings of the high-level committee constituted to examine the circumstances.

4. Gujarat firecracker factory explosion (April 1, 2025)

Twenty one persons lost their lives while six others were injured on April 1, after an explosion and blaze ripped through a godown where firecrackers were allegedly stored and manufactured illegally, leading to the structure collapse in Gujarat’s Banaskantha district.

Probe: While the State and Central governments responded quickly with an announcement of aid and the arrest of the owners, the factory was operating without a licence to manufacture.

All the deceased persons were migrant workers from Harda and Dewas districts of Madhya Pradesh.

5. Pahalgam terror attack, Jammu & Kashmir (April 22, 2025)

Twenty six people, mostly tourists, were killed by a group of terrorists in one of the most deadly attacks on civilians in the Baisaran meadows in the upper reaches of Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22. It was the first major terror attack on civilians in Kashmir since the Centre ended J&K’s special status in 2019.

Operation Sindoor: In response to the Pahalgam attack, the Indian armed forces on May 7 carried out precision strikes on nine terrorist hideouts in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Probe: A National Investigation Agency probe found direct involvement of three Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists in the attack. They were killed in the July 28 encounter code-named ‘Operation Mahadev’ on the outskirts of Srinagar.

6. Hyderabad Gulzar Houz fire tragedy, Telangana (May 18, 2025)

Seventeen persons, including eight children aged between one and seven, were killed after a massive fire engulfed the Modi residence in Gulzar Houz, a stone’s throw away from Charminar, at around 6 a.m. on May 18.

The family was a household name, known for their strong foothold in the pearls and jewellery business in Hyderabad. The residence, built in the early 1900s, was a traditional Nizam-Hyderabadi structure with no external balconies or fire escapes. 

Probe: A short circuit in the electric panel board of the property triggered the blaze, a probe by the Telangana State Disaster Response and Fire Services found.

7. Bengaluru stampede at RCB cup celebration, Karnataka (June 4, 2025)

A day after Royal Challangers Bengaluru’s IPL triumph, lakhs of fans thronged the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium and also the Vidhana Soudha where the Karnataka government had organised a separate felicitation event on June 4. In the resulting chaos, 11 persons — all under the age of 40 — lost their lives, and at least 50 others sustained injuries in the stampede.

Probe: CM Siddaramaiah also announced a judicial inquiry by a one-man commission led by former Karnataka High Court judge Michael D’Cunha. A Special Investigation Team (SIT), led by Additional Director-General of Police B. K. Singh, was formed and a top RCB official, and three others from the event management company were later arrested.

8. Air India Flight 171 crash, Ahmedabad, Gujarat (June 12, 2025)

On June 12, Air India flight AI 171, a Boeing 787-8 aircraft en route London Gatwick, crashed into a medical hostel complex shortly after take off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. The aircraft burst into flames, killing 241 out of 242 people onboard and 19 individuals on the ground. There was one survivor passenger.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) released its preliminary report on July 12. 

Probe: The 15-page preliminary report focused on the “engine 1 and engine 2 fuel cutoff switches having transitioned from Run to Cutoff position”, resulting in the fuel supply cutting off. There is also one sentence that in the “cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cutoff. The other pilot said he did not do so.” The report also said that it has no recommended actions concerning the aircraft type, the engine (GE’s GEnx-1B70/P2), and the manufacturers.

The AAIB has maintained that the preliminary report is to provide information about “what” happened, and that the final report would come out with root causes and recommendations.

9. Vadodara-Anand bridge collapse, Gujarat (July 9, 2025)

At least 20 people died after a section of the four-decade-old Gambhira bridge in Gujarat’s Vadodara district collapsed early on July 9, 2025, sending several vehicles crashing into the Mahisagar river below.

The bridge served as a vital link between central Gujarat and the Saurashtra regions, connecting Anand and Vadodara districts. It was built in 1985 by a Lucknow-based company.

Probe: As per a high-level probe committee’s initial findings, the collapse occurred due to pedestal and articulation crushing.

10. Stampede at TVK leader Vijay’s rally, Karur, Tamil Nadu (September 27, 2025)

On September 27, thousands of people gathered in Karur, Tamil Nadu, to attend a rally by actor-turned-politician Vijay. As the chief of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam party arrived hours late, the crowd swelled and surged towards his vehicle, triggering a stampede that killed 41 people and injured over 100 others. Most of the adult victims were between 18 and 30 years of age.

Probe: The Supreme Court on October 13 ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation probe. This came after the top court suspended the Chief Minister-appointed Commission of Inquiry headed by former Madras High Court judge Justice Aruna Jagadeesan, on the ground that the CBI had taken over the case.

The 25-page order of the top court in October had questioned the Single Judge’s decision to direct a SIT probe when the petition before it had only sought the framing of guidelines for the conduct of political rallies in public places.

11. Kurnool bus fire tragedy (October 24, 2025)

At least 19 passengers were charred to death and several others were injured when a luxury private bus travelling from Hyderabad to Bengaluru caught fire on Kurnool-Hyderabad National Highway No. 44 in Andhra Pradesh on October 24. In all, 43 persons were in the bus.

Probe: According to the preliminary report, the accident occurred due to over speed, poor visibility and fuel leakage after the bus collided with a bike that had been knocked to the ground earlier in a hit-and-run incident.

12. Delhi car blast near Red Fort (November 10, 2025)

A high-intensity explosion in a slow-moving car outside the Red Fort in New Delhi claimed the lives of 13 people and injured more than 20 others on November 10, sparking a nationwide alert and a probe involving multiple agencies across States.

Probe: A doctor from J&K’s Pulwama, identified as Umar Nabi, teaching at the Al-Falah University in Faridabad, emerged as the likely sole occupant of the car which exploded. The NIA, which took over the probe, made its ninth and latest arrest in the case on December 18.

13. Goa nightclub fire (December 6, 2025)

At least 25 persons were killed and six others suffered injuries in a massive fire that erupted at ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ nightclub in North Goa after midnight on December 7, 2025.

Probe: Police have so far arrested eight people, including the nightclub owners Saurabh Luthra, Gaurav Luthra, and Ajay Gupta, and five others. They have started the process to secure a Blue Corner Notice against British national Surinder Kumar Khosla, to whom the land had been leased out to.

14. Yamuna Expressway pile-up at Mathura (December 16, 2025)

At least 19 people lost their lives in a multi-vehicle pile-up on the Yamuna Expressway in Mathura on December 18, 2025. Around 90 people were injured in the accident which occurred on December 16 after eight buses and two smaller vehicles collided on the expressway, triggering a massive fire.

Probe: An investigation into the incident has been ordered under the supervision of Additional District Magistrate (Administration) Amresh Maurya. To prevent such accidents in future, the State government has issued a set of directions, including movement of vehicles in convoys, suspension of traffic when visibility is extremely low and installation of CCTV cameras along the expressway.