NEW DELHI: “I was on the platform waiting for my train when suddenly I heard loud screams and saw people rushing towards the exit,” 43-year-old Ramesh Kumar, who is from east Delhi, said. “It was like a nightmare come true. I saw people falling, screaming and crying for help. The scene was chaotic and horrifying. I tried to help as many people as I could, but it was impossible to reach everyone.”
Passengers at the station gave bone-chilling accounts of the stampede.
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Anand Kumar, an accountant from Badarpur who was heading to the Kumbh Mela, was unable to board the train due to the chaos. “I saw a woman falling from the train as she was unable to board. There was complete chaos. People were falling on each other, triggering a stampede-like situation,” he said. Kumar said he called up the police control room to inform the cops as well.
Naval Singh (69), a resident of Faridabad, who was travelling with eight people, said that they were stopped at the staircase and not allowed to go upstairs. A crowd started gathering. As people pushed from the back, many fell to the floor. For them, the crush gave them no chance to stand up.
Pooja Devi (43) also gave a similar account as Singh. “There was a stampede, and no one was able to stand up,” she said. She attributed the chaos to the closure of the staircases. Devi was searching for her two relatives. She said that children and women were mostly affected. “I was requesting people to not push, but no one listened.”
Vandana, who had to go to Mirzapur by the Purshottam Express, said there was such a huge crowd that she could not step on the train even though she had a confirmed ticket.
A youth who witnessed the crush said: “Mostly women and children got trapped in the stampede. I tried to rescue a woman who was crying in pain. But it was so suffocating. People ran here and there to save their lives, leaving behind their belongings. It was touch and go for me too.”
Also see: Pictures, videos show chaos at railway station
One man who survived complained that he was unable to breathe.
Railway police and civil defence personnel rushed to the rescue of the injured. When the platforms were cleared of people, footwear, water bottles and luggage were strewn all over.
Multiple videos of the station have surfaced in which long queues of passengers are seen everywhere – at the station, on the tracks and on the road. Even after the stampede, the platforms and foot overbridges were overflowing with people.
Kailash (46) was holding a ticket of Prayagraj Express. He said that he left for New Delhi railway station from Jhajjar around 12pm and reached the station at 4pm. The train was to leave around 10pm. As soon as I walked towards to the train, there was a huge rush. I ran to save my life,” he said.
Yogesh (20), who was going to Kanpur, said that at one point he thought he would not make it. “There was a sudden stampede, and I am surprised that I survived. It seemed like there was no chance.”