Nine passengers injured in stampede triggered by festival rush at Indian train station
Two people were critically injured
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A stampede at a railway station platform in the Indian city of Mumbai left at least nine people injured, two critically, as passengers attempted to board a moving train amid festival season crowding on Sunday.
Western Railway officials said that the incident happened at Bandra when passengers tried to board the 22921 Bandra Terminus-Gorakhpur Antyodaya Express before it had fully stopped, resulting in serious injuries to two people.
“Due to the rush on Platform 1, several passengers were injured in the stampede reported around 5.30am. The injured persons were taken to the Bandra Bhaba hospital,” Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials said in a statement.
The incident triggered a wave of criticism and backlash, with politician Rahul Gandhi criticising the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government and labelling its alleged negligence a “serious concern”. He also blamed the BJP government for inadequate infrastructure and poor crowd management.
“The stampede is the latest example of India’s crumbling infrastructure. The Balasore train accident in June last year claimed the lives of 300 people, but instead of compensating the victims, the BJP government has entangled them in a long legal battle,” he said.
“Inaugurations and publicity are good only when there is a foundation behind them that actually works to serve the public. It is a serious concern when a lack of maintenance and neglect of public property lead to loss of lives.”
Political party Shiv Sena (UBT)’s leader Sanjay Raut said that more than 25 major railway accidents have taken place nationwide, claiming over 100 lives since the Modi government assumed office. He questioned, “What is the point of talking about bullet trains, Metro and high-speed trains?”
The two critically injured passengers were identified as Indrajith Sahani, 19, and Noor Mohammad Shaikh, 18, who were taken to the local KEM hospital for treatment.
Among the other injured passengers, five were receiving treatment at the Bandra Bhaba Hospital. They were identified as Parmeshwar Sukhdar Gupta, 28, Ravindra Harihar Chuma, 30, Ramsevak Ravindra Prasad Prajapati, 29, Sanjay Tilakram Kangay, 27, and Divyanshu Yogendra Yadav, 18.
“The platform was packed with people. There was no space to even stand. People were jumping and pushing each other to reach the train’s doors. I came to drop him, saw him vanish in the crowd. Later, I got to know he was badly injured,” Vikas Gupta, brother of Mr Gupta, was quoted as saying by The Hindu.
“He was going home after a year,” he said.
In response to the accident, Western Railway imposed temporary restrictions on platform ticket sales to control crowding until early November.
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