Mumbai: 22 die in stampede on Elphinstone railway station footbridge

Mumbai: At least 22 people were killed and 39 others were injured in a stampede on a foot overbridge at Elphinstone Road railway station in Mumbai on Friday.

President Ram Nath Kovind expressed grief over the death of 22 commuters and said: "Anguished by the loss of lives in the stampede in Mumbai. Condolences to the bereaved families; prayers with injured".

“Compensation of 5 lakhs each will be given to kin of those dead. State government will bear medical expenses of injured,” Vinod Tawde said.

The incident reportedly took place around 10:45 am due to rush between Elphinstone and Lower Parel railway stations.

The Railways has released helpline numbers: Churchgate station- 022 22039840, Mumbai Central station- 022 23051665 and Elphinstone Road station- 022 24301614

This comes on the day when Railways Minister Piyush Goyal is scheduled to visit Mumbai.

Accident Relief Medical Equipment Train was rushed to the accident spot and immediate medical assistance was provided to the victims. The injured were taken to KEM hospital.

Read: Rail Min Piyush Goyal orders high level enquiry in Elphinstone Road stampede

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) also reached the spot around 1 pm to assist in the rescue operation.

The cause of the stampede was not immediately known.

A Saxena, Director General (PR), Railways, said, “Due to sudden rain people waited at station, but when rain stopped there was chaos to go out and stampede occurred”.

Read: Anguished locals blame Railways for stampede on Elphinstone station footbridge

Police, however, said they suspect a short circuit with a loud sound near the bridge led to panic and people started running, which resulted in the stampede.

Commuters said that they had complained about the bridge, which is narrow and not strong enough to take the busy crowd, several times. They even demanded that the bridge be repaired.