Survivors and eyewitnesses of the tragic stampede at New Delhi Railway Station have described scenes of chaos and devastation, as a massive crowd surged on platforms 14 and 15 late Saturday night. According to official sources, a wrong announcement about change of platforms may have created a confusion that led to the stampede, something that some eyewitnesses also claimed. The incident, which left at least 18 people dead and several others injured, unfolded as passengers attempted to board trains bound for Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh Mela.
Ved Gupta, a passenger who managed to escape unhurt, recounted the terrifying moments. “I was going to Prayagraj to take a holy dip. There was a huge crowd at platform number 14. We were two of us, and we somehow escaped unhurt. It was a very bad scene,” he said.
Geeta, a worker at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital, where the victims were taken, said, “Injured and dead bodies started arriving around 10 pm. We received 15 dead bodies and 10-12 injured patients. Three of the deceased were children”.
As soon as the announcement was made, people surged forward by pushing each other. Those who fell were trampled in the rush, Ravi Kumar, a vendor running a shop at the railway station for the past 12 years, said. The crowd was unlike anything seen before, he said.
At the railway station, porters who witnessed the tragedy described unprecedented crowd levels.
Describing the situation, Krishna Kumar Jogi, a porter at the station, said the crowd swelled when a train bound for Prayagraj arrived. “A massive crowd gathered on the (footover) bridge. People were packed so tightly that many suffocated. Around 10-15 people lost their lives right there,” he claimed.
“I witnessed the entire incident. We carried dead bodies from platform numbers 14 and 15 to the ambulance,” he added. Children and women were among those crushed in the crowd, struggling to breathe amid the suffocation, he said.
Recalling the distressing scene, Balram, a porter, said, “We carried dead bodies on handcarts, the same ones we use for luggage. In my 15 years as a porter, I have never seen such a massive crowd.”
Another porter described how there was a swell in crowd around 9:30 pm on Saturday when the Prayagraj-bound train was at the platform. “People’s shoes, slippers, and other belongings were scattered everywhere. We pulled out many children and elderly individuals from the chaos,” he said.
A railway porter who was assisting during the rescue efforts revealed the grim aftermath of the stampede. “People started gathering at around 8:30 pm. We have recovered at least 15 bodies. Women and children have lost their lives in the stampede,” he said.
Ravi Kanojia a railway vendor present during the tragedy, noted the overwhelming rush of passengers across multiple platforms. “There was a huge crowd on platforms 12, 14, 15, and 16, where trains for Prayagraj were stationed. It’s a small bridge, and people in large numbers gathered here yesterday. I had never witnessed such a crowd before,” he recounted.
Meanwhile, an Indian Air Force (IAF) sergeant, who was present at the scene, said, “The administration was working hard to prevent a mishap, but no one was listening. Even the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel struggled as the crowd exceeded all limits.”
At LNJP Hospital, a grieving man, Sanjay, who lost his sister, said, “We were 12 people traveling to Maha Kumbh. We were still at the stairs when we got stuck in the crowd. We searched for my sister for half an hour, but by then, she had died.”
“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,” said Sanjay, who lost his sister in the stampede at New Delhi Railway Station on Saturday night.
Satinder, a resident of Badarpur, planned to travel to Prayagraj with his wife but decided to return home after witnessing the huge swell in crowd. “Even inside the train, there was no space to stand. I stepped out and chose to go back,” he said.
The family member of one of the deceased on Sunday reached the LNJP Hospital to collect the body of Poonam Devi, who was heading home to Bihar on Saturday night.
“There was an overwhelming crowd at the station, and her train was supposed to arrive at platform number 12. However, after an announcement was made, people started rushing, and those who fell were crushed,” the relative said.
Among the victims was a woman travelling with her family to Chhapra in Bihar. Her son, struggling to hold back his tears, recounted the devastating loss. “We were travelling home in a large group and my mother lost her life in the chaos. People were pushing each other, and she got caught in the rush,” he said.
One 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.”
“The stampede broke out around 9:30 pm. When people on Platform 13 saw trains on Platforms 14 and 15, they surged forward. The crowd was too large to control,” he further added during his interaction with the press.
