NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police on Sunday revealed that confusion over similar train names and multiple delays contributed to the deadly stampede at New Delhi Railway Station, which claimed 18 lives.
According to officials, the chaos began when an announcement was made for the arrival of the Prayagraj Special at Platform 16. This led many passengers, who were supposed to board the Prayagraj Express at Platform 14, to mistakenly rush towards Platform 16, resulting in a massive surge of people.
“The announcement of the Prayagraj special arriving at Platform 16 led to confusion because the Prayagraj Express was already at Platform 14. People who couldn’t reach to their train at Platform 14 thought their train was arriving at Platform 16 leading to the stampede. Additionally, there were 4 trains heading to Prayagraj, out of which 3 were delayed, causing unexpected overcrowding,” Delhi Police said in a statement.
Train placement during Stampede
- Platform 14: Prayagraj Express (Departure: 10:10 PM)
- Platform 12: Magadh Express (Delayed)
- Platform 13: Swatantrata Senani Express (Delayed)
- Platform 15: Bhubaneswar Rajdhani (Delayed)
Passengers described absolute mayhem at the station, with a sudden train platform change announcement adding to the panic.
“I have never seen such a massive crowd at the railway station, not even during festivals. Officials were present, but once the crowd exceeded a certain limit, it became impossible to control,” he said.
The stampede occurred around 10pm as thousands of passengers jostled to board trains bound for Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh. The chaos intensified due to delays in two scheduled trains and the rush for a special express service, leading to overcrowding on multiple platforms.
The Ministry of Railways has called the incident “unfortunate” and has set up a two-member high-level committee to probe the cause of the tragedy and recommend preventive measures.
(With inputs from agencies)