The trauma continues for those who attended the Maharashtra Bhushan award ceremony at Kharghar on Sunday, after which 14 attendees died due to sunstroke or allegedly in a stampede. Kiran Kamtekar, 52, a cook from Vasai, who said she was caught up in the melee after the function when the attendees were leaving, said she was pushed and pulled around and somehow made it out safely. But she was separated from her friend Minakshi Mestry, 58, also from Vasai, whom she had accompanied, in the commotion, and only learnt of her death on Monday.

Kamtekar said, “Around 1.30pm, as we stepped out of the venue, we saw the disciples walking in large groups towards the buses parked away from the ground, so we followed them. We had hardly walked a few metres, when at J Kumar circle, the crowd increased drastically and people were struggling to make their way ahead. We were holding each other’s hand, so that we could be together.”