18 dead after stampede at New Delhi railway station
At least 18 people died and another 15 were injured in a stampede at the main railway station in India’s capital New Delhi on Saturday night, the chief minister of the capital territory told reporters early on Sunday.
The incident occurred around 8:00 p.m. local time on two platforms as passengers waited to board trains to Prayagraj city, where the Hindu Maha Kumbh Mela festival is being hosted, media reports said.
The death toll included 10 women and three children, local media said. Media showed images and videos of crowds pouring over each other at the station, following the incident, as police and relief teams toiled to ease the congestion.
Delhi’s Chief Minister Atishi, who only uses one name, said on X that many of the victims were pilgrims who were going to attend the Maha Kumbh.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and some other federal ministers confirmed the stampede incident in posts on X without disclosing the death toll.
“Distressed by the stampede at New Delhi Railway Station. My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones,” Modi said on X.
Evacuation trains
India’s Interior Minister Amit Shah said in a post on X that he had spoken to the railway minister and taken stock of the situation.
An inquiry was ordered into the incident and four special trains were dispatched to evacuate the rush caused at the railway station, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on X, adding that the situation is now under control.
Dozens of people were killed in a predawn stampede at the Maha Kumbh in northern India last month as tens of millions of Hindus gathered to take a dip in sacred river waters on the most auspicious day of a six-week festival.
India has witnessed several rail accidents in the last two years, including a collision in 2023 that killed at least 288 people. Indian railways is the fourth largest train network in the world and is undergoing a $30-billion upgrade, as part of Modi’s push to boost connectivity.
