A tragic stampede at New Delhi Railway Station on Saturday night claimed 18 lives and left many injured. An eyewitness, an India Railways waiter, described the panic and confusion that led to the disaster. He shared gripping details of how people struggled for breath amid the chaos, illustrating the scene with a harrowing narrative. A train announcement for platform 16, coming from Prayagraj, sparked panic and led to the deadly commotion.
Italy Railways' waiter Raju Chaubey provided an exclusive account to Aaj Tak, stating, 'The stampede occurred when people tried to switch from platform 14 to platform 16, typically used for trains headed to Prayagraj's Mahakumbh festival.'
'Announcement for the Train from Prayagraj...'
Chaubey emphasized that a train for Prayagraj arriving late on platform 14 coincided with an announcement of another train approaching platform 16 from Prayagraj. The misunderstanding led people to assume the train on platform 16 would return to Prayagraj, igniting panic and a subsequent stampede.
In the aftermath, a waiter’s assistant accused the police of mismanagement amid growing disorder, mentioning previous incidents of overcrowding that went unaddressed.
'Recovered 15 Bodies with My Colleagues'
Meanwhile, Sughan Lal Meena, a porter present at New Delhi Station, recounted, 'Along with my colleagues, we retrieved 15 bodies and placed them in ambulances. I have been working as a porter since 1981, but never witnessed such overwhelming crowds. The Prayagraj Special, initially scheduled to depart from platform 12, was shifted to platform 16. The crowd from platform 12 and those waiting outside collided in a chaotic rush to platform 16, leading to falls on escalators and stairs.'
Meena added, 'Porters attempted to calm the crowd; we managed to move at least 15 bodies to ambulances. The platform was littered with shoes and clothes. When the crowd waiting at platform 12 combined with those from outside tried to reach platform 16, collisions ensued as people fell amidst escalators and stairs. Police and firefighters were summoned, and 3-4 ambulances arrived to transport the injured to hospitals...'
Saturday night's stampede at New Delhi Station resulted in 18 fatalities and multiple injuries. The incident prompted condolences from President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Modi, among other political leaders. Railways announced a compensation of 10 lakh rupees to the families of the deceased and 2.5 lakh rupees for the seriously injured.
