The Ministry of Railways has ordered a high-level probe after at least 15 people were killed in a stampede that broke out at the New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS) around 10pm Saturday. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Railway, K.P.S. Malhotra confirmed to ThePrint that at least 15 people died in the incident.
DCP Malhotra said there was a massive crowd on platform 14 when Prayagraj Express was at that platform. “Swatantrata Senani Express and Bhubaneswar Rajdhani were delayed and the passengers of these trains were also present on platforms 12, 13 and 14 … there was a stampede at platform 14 and near the escalator near platform 16,” he told ThePrint.
“According to CMI, every hour 1,500 general tickets were sold by railways due to which the station got overcrowded and became uncontrollable” the DCP added.
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Commandant Daulat Ram Chaudhary who was at NDLS along with his team to carry out relief operations told the media in the early hours of Sunday, “…The situation is under control now. The injured have been evacuated …”
The situation, according to the Ministry of Railways, was later brought under control by easing the rush through operation of four special trains.
In a separate statement, the chief casualty medical officer at the Lok Nayak Hospital here said three children were among those killed, and that 10 others are under treatment at the hospital for injuries.
Though the Ministry of Railways is yet to issue an official statement confirming the number of casualties, an earlier statement said “unprecedented rush situation” developed near platforms 13 and 14 of the NDLS around 10 pm during which “some of the passengers present there fainted,” which led to panic and rumours of a stampede-like situation.
Dilip Kumar, executive director of Information & Publicity, Railway Board, told news agency ANI that the “number of passengers was relatively very high today at New Delhi railway station”. He added that a decision was made to briefly ‘block entry’ to the railway station in the wake of the tragic incident, “but the situation is under control now”. Kumar also said a two-member high-level committee has been formed to probe the incident.