Stampede-like situation at New Delhi railway station, casualties feared

At least 15 people were injured while fatalities are also feared after a stampedelike situation broke out at the New Delhi railway station late on Saturday evening triggering a chaos on platform numbers 14 and 15 officials saidDefence Minister Rajnath Singh and Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena said lives were lost in the incidentDevastating news from New Delhi Railway Station I am extremely pained by the loss of lives due to stampede on Railway platform In this hour of grief my thoughts are with the bereaved families Praying for the speedy of the injured Singh said in a post on X whileSaxena stated that there was an unfortunate and tragic incident of loss of lives and injuries due to disorder and stampede at the stationOfficial sources at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narain LNJP Hospital said around 1012 patients were brought to the facilityA few fatalities have also been reported though the exact number is yet to be confirmed Most of the patients have sustained injuries requiring surgery or orthopaedic treatment one of the sources told PTIEyewitnesses said due to a huge rush at the station several passengers got fainted because of suffocationIn an official statement the deputy commissioner of police railway said many people were present on platform number 14 when the Prayagraj Express train was standing at the platformDelay in trains led to situation at New Delhi railway stationThe officer further said the Swantrata Senani Express and Bhubaneshwar Rajdhani Express were delayed and the passengers of these trains were also present on platform numbers 12 13 and 14As per CMI every hour 1500 general tickets were sold by railways due to which the station got overcrowded and became uncontrollable There was a stampede at platform no 14 and near escalator near platform no 16 the DCP saidThe incident occurred around 955 pm prompting an emergency responseIn a post on X the LG said there was an unfortunate and tragic incident of loss of lives and injuries due to disorder and stampede at the New Delhi railway station My deepest condolences to the families of victims of this tragedy he saidHave spoken to Chief Secretary and Police Commissioner and asked them to address and redress the situation CS has been asked to invoke DDMA measures and deploy relief personnel All hospitals are in readiness to address related exigencies he saidOne 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 stretchersAnother passenger Pramod Chaurasia said I had a sleeperclass ticket for Purushottam Express but even those with confirmed tickets could not board the trainSituation under control says Ashwini VaishnawOne of my friends and a female passenger got stuck in the crowd There was too much pushing and jostling We managed to stay safe by waiting outside with our childrenAuthorities immediately dispatched rescue teams and four fire tenders were rushed to the site to assist in the relief efforts Delhi Fire Services DFS chief Atul Garg saidInitial reports suggest overcrowding due to train services for the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj led to the situationNorthern Railways Chief Public Relations Officer CPRO Himanshu Upadhyay told PTI that passengers pushed each other which caused injuries to some of them The injured passengers were taken to hospitals for first aid he saidRailway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a post on X that the situation at the station is now under control Delhi Police and Central Reserve Police Force CRPF personnel have reached the spot and the injured have been taken to hospitals Special trains are being run to tackle the sudden rush he addedA large crowd gathered outside the railway station causing traffic congestion Traffic police personnel were deployed to manage and clear the situation near the Montrose BridgeThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever