Mumbai | At least ten persons were injured in a stampede at Mumbai's Bandra railway station on Sunday when hundreds of people attempted to board a Gorakhpur-bound train to head to their native places for the upcoming Diwali and Chhatth festivals, civic officials said.
The Western Railway, however, stated two persons were injured in the incident. The figures cannot be reconciled immediately.
The condition of one of the injured persons is critical, a civic official said.
The incident occurred at platform number 1 around 2:45 AM when unreserved Bandra-Gorakhpur Antyodaya Express was "slowly moving" from the BDTS (Bandra Terminus) yard towards the platform before its scheduled departure at 5.10 am.
The platform was teeming with people eager to board the train that would take them to their native places in Uttar Pradesh for upcoming festivals.
According to the Western Railway (WR), the train was moving slowly from the yard towards the platform when several passengers made a dangerous attempt to board it. This led to injuries as two individuals fell while trying to climb aboard.
Prima facie, some individuals fell on the platform after colliding with the coaches or while trying to navigate the space between two coaches, railway sources said.
"Ideally, the doors of the coaches are opened only after the train comes to a complete stop at the platform, allowing passengers to board in an orderly queue," a WR official stated.
Some passengers on the platform attempted to board the moving train, leading to an accident wherein two passengers fell and sustained injuries, said the WR's statement issued around 10.30 am.
"The on-duty Railway Protection Force (RPF), Government Railway Police (GRP), and Home Guard personnel quickly responded, taking the injured to Bhabha Government Hospital," a WR statement said.
While the majority of the injured are reported to be in stable condition, two individuals are said to be in critical condition.
However, as per the Mumbai disaster control cell and a civic official, ten passengers were injured in the stampede.
Three out of the ten injured took discharge against medical advice, a civic official said in the evening.
Noor Mohammad Shaikh (18), who suffered multiple injuries, is critical with oxygen support. The update on another person, identified as Indrajit Sahani (19) who also suffered multiple injuries, is awaited.
Both patients are admitted at KEM Hospital, the official added.
In light of the stampede, the WR has urged passengers not to board or alight from moving trains.
"It is essential for the safety of all passengers that they wait for the train to come to a complete stop before boarding," the WR added.
The WR is operating more than 130 festival special trains for various destinations, especially to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, in view of the upcoming Diwali and Chhath festivals, it said in the statement.
In a separate video statement, WR's chief public relations officer Vineet Abhishek said about 2.5 hours before the scheduled departure at 5.10 am, the train was being backed on the platform.
"Unfortunately, some passengers tried to board the train while it was moving, because of which they got injured," he said.
Considering the festival season, the WR has issued a notification for 2,300 trips of special trains from Mumbai Central, Bandra, Valsad, Udhna and other stations on their network, the official said.
A special holding area has been created and extra ticketing counters have been set up for passengers, he added.
An adequate number of GRP and RPF personnel, along with ticketing staff, remain deployed at the stations to ensure smoother boarding of passengers at the railway stations. Also, the passengers are allowed to board the trains in queue as per the protocol, the WR said.
In the aftermath of the incident, videos surfaced on social media showing the chaos, including footage of injured passengers being assisted by railway officials and bystanders.
A video clip shows a person lying on a platform with a leg injury whereas other passengers are boarding the train without paying attention to him.
Separate videos show an RPF officer carrying an injured passenger on his shoulder and another RPF officer evacuating an injured person using a cloth as a (makeshift) stretcher assisted by some passengers.
The RPF personnel and local people immediately rushed the injured persons to the Bhabha Hospital.
In the wake of the stampede incident, the Central Railway and Western Railway imposed temporary restrictions on the sale of platform tickets at major stations to reduce festival crowding.
In a release issued during the day, CR said the platform ticket sale restrictions will be in force in Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Dadar, Kurla LTT, Thane, Kalyan, Pune and Nagpur stations with immediate effect.
Western Railway said platform ticket sale restrictions have been imposed till November 8 at Mumbai Central, Dadar, Bandra Terminus, Borivali, Vasai Road, Vapi, Valsad, Udhna and Surat stations.
The CR said it would run two additional unreserved trains between CSMT and Gorakhapur for Diwali and Chhath.
Notably, Mumbai had witnessed the worst stampede at the foot overbridge of Elphinstone Road in September 2017, killing 23 people.
New Delhi | Hitting out at the BJP, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said Sunday's stampede at Mumbai's Bandra railway station was the latest example of India's crumbling infrastructure.
He also asserted that inaugurations and publicity were acceptable only when the foundation behind them was about working for public good.
Nine people were injured in a stampede amid a rush to board a Gorakhpur-bound train at the Bandra station on Sunday, local civic and disaster control officials said.
The Western Railway, meanwhile, said in a statement that two persons were injured.
In view of the upcoming Diwali and Chhath festivals, a large number of people planning to go to their native places had reached the Bandra Terminus station where several passengers rushed to board the unreserved train when it was being brought on a platform, sources said.
Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X, "Inaugurations and publicity are acceptable only when the foundation behind them is about working for public good. When people lose their lives due to a lack of maintenance and neglect of public property and bridges, platforms or statues start crumbling after the ribbon cutting, it is a matter of serious concern," he said.
The Bandra station stampede is the latest example of India's crumbling infrastructure, the former Congress chief said.
In June last year, 300 people lost their lives in the Balasore train accident but, instead of compensating the victims, the BJP government has entangled them in a long legal battle, he alleged.
Imagine when even a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj falls down in just nine months, it clearly means the intention was only publicity -- there was neither respect for Shivaji Maharaj nor concern for public safety, Gandhi said.
"Today, the country needs international-class infrastructure that also takes care of the local needs of the poor -- that makes business easy, travel convenient and people safe," he added.
"India is capable and competent -- we just need an effective and transparent system aimed at public service and focused on laying the foundation for a strong future for the country," Gandhi said.
A local civic official said the incident at Bandra station occurred when people rushed to board the 22921 Bandra-Gorakhpur Antyodaya Express on platform No 1 at the Bandra Terminus.
The Western Railway said the incident occurred at 2:45 am when the train was "slowly moving" from the station yard towards the platform.
"During this time, some passengers on the platform attempted to board the moving train, leading to an accident where two passengers fell and got injured," according to the statement issued around 10:30 am.
"The on-duty RPF (Railway Protection Force), GRP (Government Railway Police), and Home Guard officers promptly acted and admitted the injured passengers to the nearby Bhabha Government Hospital," the statement said, adding that the injured passengers were stable.
However, according to the Mumbai disaster control cell and the civic official, nine passengers were injured at the busy outstation train terminus.