My mother died before my eyes: Survivor of Kolkata stampede that killed 19. A 25-year-old man, Sonu Pal, survived the stampede at Kolkata's Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal but lost his mother in the incident. "My mother died before my eyes...I too might not have survived," he said. He recalled that sudden rainfall prompted people gathered at the pandal entrance to push inside to escape the rain. Stampede killed at least 19 people.