Mumbai: At least nine persons were injured in a stampede at Mumbai’s Bandra Railway Station in the early hours of Sunday. The incident took place when a large number of passengers scrambled to board the unreserved coaches of the Bandra-Gorakhpur train. Overcrowding on the platform due to the festival rush was cited as the immediate reason for the stampede.
The rescue operations have been launched and the injured have been shifted to a hospital, said the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) adding that the stampede occurred due to the festive rush before Diwali. Of the nine injured passengers, the condition of seven passengers is stable while two have suffered critical injuries.
As part of Diwali celebrations, Chhata Puja is celebrated with pomp. In this background, various special trains are being run from Mumbai to destinations across the country, and the rush of passengers is also increasing. There was a huge rush at the Bandra terminus and the stampede took place at 2 am, according to the officials.
The injured passengers have been identified as Shabhir Abdul Rehman (40), Parmeshwar Sukhdar Gupta (28), Ravindra Harihar Chuma (30), Ramsevak Ravindra Prasad Prajapati (29), Sanjay Tilakram Kangay (27), Divyanshu Yogendra Yadav (18), Mohammad Shareef Shaikh (25), Indrajith Sahani (19) and Noor Mohammad Shaikh (18).
When Train number 22921 from Bandra to Gorakhpur arrived at platform number 1 of the Bandra station, a large chunk of passengers on the platform rushed to quickly board the train so a to block their seats in the coaches. This resulted in chaos with some people falling on the platform during the stampede.
"Ideally, doors of the coaches are opened after the train makes a halt at the platform and passengers then board in a queue," a WR employee said.
A video showed blood on the floor and those injured being rushed to the hospital on stretchers by Railway Police personnel. Another video captured a Railway officer carrying an injured passenger on his shoulder. The BMC assured that the situation is under control at the railway station and the injured have been taken to Bhabha Hospital.
Western Railway has not released an official statement yet. Spokesperson Vineet Abhishek was unavailable for comment. Despite the incident and the chaos that followed, the Antyodaya Express departed from the Bandra Terminus close around its scheduled time.
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