New Delhi Railway station late on Saturday night witnessed a stampede, which killed at least 18 people and left over a dozen injured, officials said. The stampede was preceded by a swell in crowd of passengers waiting to board trains for Prayagraj, where the Mahakumbh is being held.
Eyewitnesses said a huge rush at the station led to the stampede with several fainting because of suffocation. In 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.
An eyewitness, an IAF sergeant recounted that despite announcements and efforts to convince people to avoid gathering in large numbers, the crowd remained unmanageable. He said that the administration attempted to control the crowd, but people didn't listen.
"We have a tri-service office at the railway station. When I was returning after my duty, I couldn't go as there was a huge crowd. I tried to convince people and also made announcements appealing to people to avoid gathering on the platform in large numbers. The administration was working hard to prevent any mishap, but no one was listening. I also helped the injured people with the help of one of my friends," he told.
At LNJP hospital, the brother of one of the victims, Sanjay says, "We were 12 people going to Maha Kumbh. We hadn't even reached the platform but were at the stairs... My family, including my sister were stuck in the crowd. We found her after half an hour and by the time she was dead."
A passenger said, "My mother died in the stampede. The doctor confirmed her death. We were going to our home in Chhapra, Bihar. We have no idea why this happened, so many people came all of a sudden and started pushing each other... There were no police."
An eyewitness, Ravi says, "The stampede broke out around 9:30 pm... When people on platform number 13 saw trains on platforms 14 and 15 - they moved towards these platforms. The platforms of the trains were not changed, but the crowd was so huge that it could not be controlled.”
Another eyewitness said, "The crowd was beyond the limit, people were gathered at the (foot over) bridge. Such a huge crowd wasn't expected. I have never seen such a massive crowd at the railway station, even during the festivals. People from the administration and even NDRF personnel were there, but when the crowd exceeded the limit, it wasn't possible to control them."