Initially I did praise the contribution of our news media, social media and email trails. However, when my mind was settled somehow, I realized that I do have a lot to comment upon all those who were a part of this information flow. I am not really trying to point my figures at any specific media group or a person; I feel there are few lessons we should learn and try to re-evaluate ourselves and see if we could help prevent any major glitches in a similar event of emergency. 

Lesson 1: Keep away from the site and let people do their job

If one happens to witness similar incident, we should try to follow some discipline and keep the access road clear for smooth movement of Police, Force, Ambulance and Fire Engines etc. This would really help expedite any rescue process.

Lesson 2: Why do you need to know everything immediately?

Our media channels should realize that they do create hurdle during these kinds of operations. I saw at least five footages where police and security personals were begging news reporters to go away and requesting them to do their job.

Lesson 3: Media channels need to collaborate on common messaging.

You must have noticed more than 100 camera’s / microphone and a bunch of tangled wired on the ground. Imagine a stampede, these wires, cameras and tripods will definitely add to the casualty. My suggestion would be to allow only 2-3 nominated camera operators on the site and let all media use the same video / audio stream. Finally, keep the entire areas clear at least for a kilometer from the site.

Lesson 4: Blog, Tweet and react responsibly.

I found most people tweeting and blogging on this topic very aggressively. I found myself in a highly panicked state when I went through the massive twitter feeds. I could not avoid it since it was the most updated source of information for me. However, there were many bloggers deliberately trying to provoke the blogger / twitter community. Do not share false assumptions and trigger ‘Rumors’ which are no good but add to the chaos.

I feel that a little self-discipline amongst us during these crucial moments could make a big difference. However, I wish we never see the same day again.