At least 18 people were killed in the overnight stampede at the packed New Delhi Railway Station, with a senior railway official saying on Sunday that the incident occurred after some passengers slipped and fell on others while coming down from a footover bridge.
More than a dozen people were also injured in the stampede on Saturday night at the railway station which witnessed a surge of passengers waiting to board trains for Prayagraj -- where the Maha Kumbh is underway -- on platform number 14 and 15 of the station.
Northern Railway's Chief Public Relations Officer Himanshu Upadhyay said that at the time of incident the Patna-bound Magadh Express was standing at platform number 14 and the New Delhi-Jammu Uttar Sampark Kranti Express was stationed at platform number 15.
"Some people who were coming down from the footover bridge towards platform numbers 14 and 15 using stairs slipped and fell on others," he said, citing the cause of the stampede.
While some sources said delays in train departures and the sale of 1,500 general tickets every hour may have created a chaotic situation at the station, other sources indicated that wrong announcement about change of platforms may have created confusion that led to the stampede.
Railways have announced the names of two high administrative group officials, who will be part of the inquiry committee constituted to probe the stampede.
Narsingh Deo, principal chief commercial manager, Northern Railway and Pankaj Gangwar, principal chief security commissioner, Northern Railway are the members of the committee, the railways said.
The committee, which has commenced it inquiry, gave orders to secure all video footage of the New Delhi Railway Station.The inquiry was ordered by the railways on Saturday after the stampede.
A compensation of Rs 10 lakh each has been announced by the railways for the next of kin of those killed in the stampede.
Those seriously injured will get Rs 2.5 lakh and those with minor injuries 1 lakh, the railway said.
At the railway station this afternoon, crowds could still be seen with passengers eagerly waiting for trains.
Railway staff worked through the night to clear the platforms where large number of shoes, torn bags and clothes were strewn around after the stampede.
A railway staffer, who had spent hours clearing the personal belongings of passengers caught in the stampede, described the scene as "one of the worst" he had witnessed.
"There were belongings everywhere -- slippers , half-eaten food, and even a child's school bag. People had no time to pick up their things; they just ran for their lives," he said.
The stampede occurred around 9:55 pm on Saturday night when thousands of passengers, mostly Maha Kumbh pilgrims, crowded the station to board trains to Prayagraj.
The Prayagraj Express was stationed at platform 14, while the Swatantrata Senani Express and Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express were delayed, causing an overwhelming surge of people on platforms 12, 13, and 14.
The situation worsened when a last-minute platform change was announced. Confused and panicked, passengers rushed towards platform 16, where an escalator became a deadly choke point, according to sources.
Security personnel tried to intervene, but the crowd was too large to control. Some passengers attempted to climb the railings to escape, while others were crushed underfoot, the sources said.
When the chaos subsided, 18 people including, 11 women and five children, had lost their lives.
At the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital, grieving families gathered to identify their loved ones.
A man, searching desperately for his missing son, broke down upon seeing a familiar blue backpack among the items recovered from the station.
"He was just 12. He was supposed to board the train with me," he said.
President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh condoled the loss of lives in the stampede.
"Deeply anguished to know about the loss of lives in a stampede at New Delhi railway station. I extend my heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and pray for speedy recovery of those injured," Murmu said in a post on X
The prime minister said he was distressed by the stampede at New Delhi Railway Station.
"My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that the injured have a speedy recovery. The authorities are assisting all those who have been affected by this stampede," he said.
Opposition parties slammed the government over the loss of lives in the stampede.
The Congress accused the government of attempting to hide the truth about the deaths in the stampede and said it has once again highlighted the "failure" of the Railways and the "insensitivity" of the government. while the AAP said it was a glaring example of "gross mismanagement" and lack of crowd control measures.
The Delhi police put out a list of the 18 deceased and launched an investigation into the stampede.
"Our main target is to investigate the main cause which caused the stampede. We will collect all data of CCTV footage and announcements done during that time," a police source said.
The deceased have been identified as Asha Devi (79), Pinky Devi (41), Sheela Devi (50), Vyom (25), Poonam Devi (40), Lalita Devi (35), Suruchi (11), Krishna Devi (40), Vijay Sah (15), Neeraj (12), Shanti Devi (40), Pooja Kumari (8), Sangeeta Malik (34), Poonam (34), Mamta Jha (40), Riya Singh (7), Baby Kumari (24) and Manoj (47).
Hospital sources said that all bodies of victims were handed over to their family members by 9 am and they left for their respective places.
Sources said that most family members took bodies of their loved ones without postmortem, even as there was no official confirmation on this.
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