At least 36 people were killed and more than 50 injured in a stampede at a rally in Tamil Nadu in India held by actor Vijay, who is campaigning for election, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu said.

Chief Minister MK Stalin said eight children and 16 women were among the 36 people who died in the district of Karur in Tamil Nadu during a political rally by Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, Vijay’s party.

Earlier, state lawmaker Senthil Balaji told reporters that 58 people were hospitalised.

Vijay, one of Tamil cinema’s most bankable actors for three decades, has drawn massive crowds to his public meetings since launching his political party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, in 2024, which has targeted both the state ruling party DMK and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.

He is campaigning ahead of state elections that are to be held in early 2026.

Videos from local media show thousands of people surrounding a large campaign vehicle on top of which Vijay is seen standing and speaking.

During the rally, visuals showed Vijay throwing water bottles from the top of the vehicle to fainting supporters and calling for police help when the crowd became uncontrollable.

“My heart is broken; I am in unbearable, indescribable pain and sorrow,” Vijay wrote on X.

The unfortunate incident during a political rally in Karur, Tamil Nadu, is deeply saddening. My thoughts are with the families who have lost their loved ones. Wishing strength to them in this difficult time. Praying for a swift recovery to all those injured.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 27, 2025

“I express my deepest sympathies and condolences to the families of my dear brothers and sisters who lost their lives in Karur. I pray for a speedy recovery for those who are undergoing treatment in the hospital.”

At least 44 doctors from the nearby districts of Tiruchirappalli and Salem were sent to Karur, media reports said.

Mr Stalin has announced 1 million Indian rupees (€9,600) each to the families of the victims who died in the incident and set up an inquiry panel.

This is not the first time Vijay’s rallies have faced safety concerns. At least six deaths were reported by media following the first meeting of his political party when it was launched in October last year.

Despite police-imposed restrictions, including limits on convoy size and venue changes, the sheer scale of public turnout has repeatedly overwhelmed local infrastructure.

“The unfortunate incident during a political rally in Karur, Tamil Nadu, is deeply saddening,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a post on X.

At least 36 people have been killed and dozens injured during a stampede at a rally for actor-turned-politician Vijay – a huge star in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Ma Subramanian, the state’s health minister, said at least 40 people were injured at the event, and that the death toll included eight children.

Vijay, one of Tamil cinema’s biggest actors for three decades, has drawn massive crowds to his public meetings since launching his political party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, in 2024.

Indian media reports, quoting local officials, said the stampede was triggered when a group of Vijay’s supporters and fans fell while trying to get close to his bus.

Footage also showed Vijay throwing water bottles from the top of the vehicle to fainting supporters during the rally, and calling for police help when the crowd became uncontrollable.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a post on X: “The unfortunate incident during a political rally in Karur, Tamil Nadu, is deeply saddening.”

In a post on social media at 6.45pm UK time, Vijay said “my heart is shattered” after the incident.

“I extend my deepest condolences and sympathies to the families of my dear brothers and sisters who lost their lives in Karur,” he added.

“I pray for the swift recovery of those receiving treatment in the hospital.”

Stampedes are relatively common in India when large crowds gather. In June, at least 11 people died after a crush outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium after the team won their first IPL title.

It is also not the first time Vijay’s rallies have faced safety concerns, with at least six deaths reported after the first meeting of his political party when it was launched in October last year.

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More than €4 million in Government funding to the childcare sector is set to be returned due to a delay in ratifying an already-agreed 10 per cent pay increase for the more than 30,000 workers in the sector.

The money represents about 10 per cent of the €45 million in ring-fenced funding to support pay in the early years sector which was allocated in last year’s budget.

The funding year for the sector runs from September 1st and the money was to be allocated evenly across 52 weeks.

It means the failure to ratify the agreement reached by representatives of owners and staff at the start of the summer after a Joint Labour Committee (JLC) process, overseen by the Labour Court, is holding up the implementation of the increases and resulting in the loss of €865,000 in public funding per week.

Speaking at Siptu’s early years sector conference at Liberty Hall in Dublin on Saturday, Minister for Children, Disability and Equality Norma Foley said she wanted to see all of the money provided by Government to the sector reach it and was particularly anxious to see the pay and conditions of staff improve but “the JLC is an independent process and I have to respect that”.

She told delegates she hopes the process of implementing the deal would be completed “within weeks”.

Siptu’s Darragh O’Connor said the loss of funding had been caused by delays on the employer side in agreeing the deal. “It’s not the first time that has happened – the previous deal took over a year to conclude. We need these deals to be concluded in good time so educators don’t lose out like this.”

Ms Foley said the Government remains committed to the targets set out for the sector in its programme, including the reduction of fees to parents to €200 per month, but the scale of progress made in this budget would depend on the amount of funding made available to her department.

Negotiations are understood to be continuing between Ms Foley and Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers, with one meeting having taken place last week and another scheduled for the coming days.

[ Budget 2026: Norma Foley to consider relief proposals for parents paying highest creche feesOpens in new window ]

Ms Foley said she was pleased to see that supports introduced by the previous government meant many parents on low incomes were now paying rates at or below the OECD average for childcare but she was conscious that for many on middle and high incomes there were still instances of “very high fees”.

It was reported earlier this week in The Irish Times that the budget is likely contain measures intended to particularly help those families paying the highest amounts in fees, and Ms Foley also mentioned those with three or more children as being potentially among the most hard-pressed at present.

In addition, she said, “it is the intention that we drive forward with the public model while recognising the great service that is provided by those who are the private providers.”

Siptu’s Diane Jackson said the union wanted, among other things, to see the State’s first publicly operated early years service open next year. Its assistant general secretary, John King, said Ms Foley should spark a “Donogh O’Malley moment” by transforming access to early years the way her predecessor as minister for education had with secondary education in 1967.

She said the Government continues to see public-run services as part of the anticipated future mix and as a tool to address geographical shortages but she could not put a time frame on any roll-out.

Also at the event, her predecessor as minister for children, Roderic O’Gorman, urged her to move forward immediately, saying: “I know from experience that if you want to see results in years three, four and five, you have to act in year one.”