Carnival claims second victim

Notting Hill Carnival has been peaceful in recent years

LONDON -- A second man has died after being attacked at this year's Notting Hill Carnival.

Abdul Bhatti, 28, was punched and kicked by a group of men on Monday in what is thought to have been a robbery attempt. Another man was stabbed to death on Monday evening.

The deaths are the first at the London carnival since 1997 and police say they are being treated as murder.

Bhatti died in St Mary's Hospital, in Paddington. Police could not confirm a report that his mother flew in from Pakistan on Tuesday to be at his bedside.

The other victim, 21-year-old Greg Watson, who was the father of a three-week-old girl, Amber, was the victim of an unprovoked attack, police said.

About a million people crowded onto the streets of west London on Monday, which was a national holiday, for the climax of the multi-cultural carnival. On Sunday the figure was 500,000.

Police said 129 people were arrested over the two days, mainly for public order offences or for being drunk and disorderly. There were three less serious stabbings and one man was glassed in the face.

Two people remain in hospital after suffering head and spinal injuries when they fell into the basement of a house after railings collapsed.

One is said to be in a stable condition, while the other is still seriously ill but improving.

The Notting Hill Carnival was started by West Indian immigrants in 1964 and is now regarded as Europe's biggest street festival.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Revellers pack Notting Hill
Party time in Notting Hill

The Notting Hill Carnival 2000

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.