New Delhi: Eyewitnesses at Saturday (February 15) night’s stampede at the New Delhi railway station that officials say killed at least 18 people said the crowd in the station had gone out of control and recalled seeing people faint as well as multiple dead bodies.
Delhi Fire Services chief Atul Garg said the incident occurred at 9:55 pm on platforms 14 and 15.
The stampede took place after massive crowds gathered at the platforms to board trains that were heading to Prayagraj, where the Maha Kumbh Mela is ongoing.
Said to be the biggest religious gathering in the world, the Mela also saw a stampede in the intervening night of January 28 and 29, which claimed 30 lives and left over 60 people injured.
Sangeeta Sharma (45), who hails from Bihar’s Patna but resides in Delhi, said she saw the tragedy unfold before her own eyes. “I came to platform 14 at 8 pm, an hour before my train’s scheduled departure time. There was a sudden surge of passengers and the crowd went out of control. Some fainted, but others refused to help,” she said.
Sangeeta Sharma saw the stampede unfold before her eyes.
Sharma, who was supposed to board the Magadh Express to go to Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh, further said, “I saw four dead bodies myself. A young girl, a woman apparently in her 40s, a young boy in his 20s and an elderly man were killed in the stampede among others. All this, while I was alone.
“My phone started ringing non-stop as soon as the news broke on TV. My family called me crying to know about my whereabouts. They were very scared,” she added.
The railways ministry has announced Rs 10 lakh as compensation for the families of the deceased. Victims with grievous injuries will receive Rs 2.5 lakh, whereas those with minor injuries will get Rs 1 lakh.
Aftermath of the stampede at the New Delhi station.
According to fire officials, four fire tenders were rushed to service after the department received calls about a stampede around 9:55 pm.
The injured were rushed to the Lok Nayak Hospital.
K.P.S. Malhotra, a deputy commissioner of police in the railways, said that the Prayagraj Express was on platform number 14 and many people had gathered on the platform.
Passengers of the Swatantrata Senani Express and the Bhubaneshwar Rajdhani were also present at platforms 12, 13 and 14 as the trains were delayed, he said. “The crowd became uncontrollable. There was a stampede-like situation at platform 14.”
Priyam Goswami with his wife Kajal Devi at the New Delhi station.
Priyam Goswami came to the station to board the Magadh Express along with his wife Kajal Devi and a one-and-a-half year-old child. He was present on platform 14 when the stampede happened.
“The crowd was uncontrollable moments before the Magadh Express was supposed to arrive at the platform. We were supposed to go to Arrah in Bihar. Platforms 14 and 15 were particularly overcrowded and there were no officials,” he said.
Even after the stampede, the rush to board trains to Prayagraj continued.
The Magadh Express, which passes through Prayagraj, departed from platform 14 at 9:18 pm. The Prayagraj Express departed at 10:17 pm from the same platform. The stampede occurred during the time between the departure of these two trains.
The Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express, which was to depart from platform 11 at 5 pm, was late by almost ten hours. Similarly, the Swatantrata Senani Express which departs from platform 13 was running three hours late.
Jagdish Kumar with his wife Kanti Devi showing his confirmed ticket to travel in the Swatantra Senani Express.
Given the fact that both these trains pass through Prayagraj, many passengers gathered on the platforms to board these trains to travel to the Maha Kumbh.
As these two trains were delayed for hours, the Magadh Express and the Prayagraj Express that eventually arrived on these platforms, faced unprecedented crowds.
Travellers sit crammed inside a train halting at the New Delhi station.
Jagdish Kumar (29), a resident of Bihar’s Chhapra but who lives in Delhi with his wife Kanti, said that the Swatantrata Senani Express, the train that he was supposed to board from platform 13 at 9:15 pm, was running three hours late. He therefore tried to board the Magadh Express from platform 14 which was en route to Bihar via Prayagraj.
“The train was heavily crowded. My wife is not well. Her medical tests couldn’t be done here [in the national capital] due to high fees. So I decided to take her back to Bihar to get her medical tests done.
Footfall at this New Delhi station platform eases but remains substantial.
“I spent my hard-earned money to book confirmed tickets online, but that train was running late. Hence, I decided to board another train but seeing the massive crowd, I refused to board it,” he said.
Fifty-six-year-old Dashrath Kumar arrived at platform 16 of the railway station past midnight with his wife, daughter, son-in-law and four grandchildren to board a train to Prayagraj to take a holy dip in the Sangam (the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers in Prayagraj). He is a resident of Madhya Pradesh but stays in Delhi with his family.
Dashrath Kumar with his family at the New Delhi station.
Unaware of what had happened at the station, he appeared calm and eager to begin his journey to Prayagraj. All this changed in a moment when he saw heavy police and media presence.
“Did something go wrong here?” he asked. “Stampede,” replied a fellow passenger. The moment he heard this, he opened YouTube on his phone and started watching news videos.
A few minutes later, he told us, “Now I’m feeling scared. We let go of three trains at the Anand Vihar railway station [another major station in Delhi] as they were very crowded. There was no space for us to enter. Hence, we came to the New Delhi station, only to hear this sad news. We are cancelling our trip and returning home right away.”
The injured were treated at the Lok Nayak Hospital.
Meanwhile, at the Lok Nayak Hospital where 18 stampede victims were declared dead, the media’s entry was prohibited. There was a heavy presence of security forces and Delhi police personnel outside the hospital’s gate.
Delhi’s caretaker chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Atishi visited the injured at the hospital and said, “It’s a sad incident. Fifteen people were brought dead to the [hospital] and the same number of injured are also admitted here.”
Mohammad Zahid outside the Lok Nayak Hospital.
Outside the hospital, Mohammad Zahid (40) was standing beside his scooter. He said he went inside the hospital to provide the injured with essential items such as food, fruits and water bottles that were sent by the local MLA.
“The doctors and police are taking out dead bodies one after another. The injured are inside the ICU. I saw several dead bodies inside,” he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X: “Distressed by the stampede at New Delhi Railway Station. My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that the injured have a speedy recovery. The authorities are assisting all those who have been affected by this stampede.”
Passengers sit on the floor of train coaches as they continued to board trains in large numbers amid a lack of available seats.
Opposition leader and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi took to X to condole the deaths in the stampede.
“This incident once again highlights the failure of the Railways and the insensitivity of the government. Considering the large number of devotees going to Prayagraj, better arrangements should have been made at the station. The government and administration should ensure that no one has to lose their life due to mismanagement and negligence,” he added.
BJP MP for Chandni Chowk, Praveen Khandelwal, said the railways has formed a committee to investigate the cause of the incident.
“The prime minister has also taken cognisance,” he added.
The Delhi police has launched an investigation into the incident, saying it will analyse CCTV footage to determine how the chaos erupted.
The authorities and government are under fire for their failure on the aspects of planning and crowd management.
Syed Abubakr and Sumit Singh are freelance reporters based in Delhi.