At Least 15 Dead, Over Dozen Injured, In Stampede At New Delhi Railway Station

🎃Acting Chief Minister Atishi told reporters that 15 people had been brought dead at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital of central Delhi. All but two of the casualties were identified. Three of them were children.

ജAlmost 15 people are injured and they are undergoing treatment, Atishi said. Eyewitnesses said a huge rush at the station led to the stampede with several passengers fainting because of suffocation.

ಌIn an official statement, the deputy commissioner of police (railway) said platform number 14 was already very crowded when the Prayagraj Express train was waiting there for its departure.

✨The officer said Swatantra Senani Express and Bhubaneshwar Rajdhani Express were delayed and the passengers of these trains were also present on platform numbers 12, 13 and 14.

💯 "As per CMI, every hour 1,500 general tickets were sold by railways due to which the station got overcrowded and became uncontrollable. There was a stampede at platform no. 14 and near escalator near platform no. 16," the DCP said.

🙈The stampede broke out around 9.55 pm, prompting an emergency response from authorities. One of the victims told reporters that his mother had died in the stampede.

🍬He said, "We were travelling to our home in Chhapra, Bihar, in a group, but my mother lost her life in the chaos. People were pushing each other."

🎃He added, "The doctor has confirmed to us that my mother has died." Another family member of the deceased, a woman, collapsed in grief.

ꦕAuthorities dispatched rescue teams and four fire tenders were rushed to the site, Delhi Fire Services (DFS) chief Atul Garg said.

🌞Northern Railway's Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Himanshu Upadhyay earlier told PTI that passengers pushed each other, which caused injuries to some of them. They were taken to hospitals for first aid, he said.

💝Delhi LG VK Saxena grieved the deaths in a post on X, but later edited it, removing the bits where he mentioned the deaths. In his original post, Saxena said there was an "unfortunate and tragic" incident of "loss of lives and injuries" due to "disorder and stampede" at the New Delhi Railway Station. "My deepest condolences to the families of victims of this tragedy."

♛However, after about 15 minutes Saxena edited his post to delete the reference to deaths. No explanation was given. Singh's post remains as it is.

ꦜOne of the passengers, Dharmendra Singh, said, "I was going to Prayagraj but many trains were running late or were cancelled. The station was overcrowded. There were far more people than I have ever seen at this station. In front of me, six or seven women were taken away on stretchers."

ꦕAnother passenger, Pramod Chaurasia, said, "I had a sleeper-class ticket for Purushottam Express but even those with confirmed tickets could not board the train. One of my friends and a female passenger got stuck in the crowd. There was too much pushing and jostling. We managed to stay safe by waiting outside with our children."

♑Before the deaths were confirmed, Railway Board's Information and Publicity, executive Dilip Kumar, told PTI that a "stampede-like" situation occurred due to a large footfall and several people collapsed.

💟"So far, four special trains have been released for passenger convenience, and more are being considered. Arrangements are being made for additional special trains," he said.