MAXIMUM CITY, MINIMUM INFRA: MUMBAI STAMPEDE KILLS 22
Passengers caught in a stampede at Elphinstone railway station’s foot overbridge in Mumbai on Friday. At least 22 persons died and over 30 were injured in the tragedy
A stampede on the stairwell of a narrow footbridge, linking two railways stations, in Mumbai on Friday left at least 22 persons dead and more than 30 injured, officials said. Eight women and a young boy were amongst those killed, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said, adding that five of the injured were critical.
The tragedy took place at around 10.40 am when the overbridge, which links Elphinstone Road and Parel suburban stations, became overcrowded. The bridge is used by lakhs to commute to the commercial area where high-end corporate and media offices are located, a policeman said.
People trapped on the stairs suffocated to death. As those on the platform below watched helplessly, many people attempted to escape by climbing over the railing.
The rain and a short circuit were the reasons for the stampede, which many citizens said was a tragedy waiting to happen. “It was raining heavily and people on the bridge were in a rush to get down, while those who had alighted from suburban trains were making their way up,” said Kishor Thakkar, who has been travelling on the route for years.
“We had given a letter to the railway administration six months ago, with a request to do something to improve the shoddy state of affairs here,” he said.
Hours after the stampede, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal announced a safety and capacity audit of all foot overbridges on the suburban train network. Compensation of ~10 lakh was announced for the kin of the deceased — ~5 lakh from Goyal and another ~5 lakh from Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Goyal also announced ~1 lakh for the grievously injured and ~50,000 for those with minor injuries.
It has also come to light that former Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had assured a Shiv Sena MP last year that a wider bridge would be built in its place.
The ruling BJP’s ally Shiv Sena’s MP Sanjay Raut dubbed the stampede a “massacre”, while opposition parties hit out at the Central and Maharashtra governments over the tragedy.
The non-BJP parties said instead of pursuing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet bullet train project, the Centre should focus on improving safety of passengers and amenities at stations.