2 DEAD IN BENGAL STATION STAMPEDE
KOLKATA: Two persons died and over a dozen were injured in a stampede at a railway station in West Bengal on Tuesday.
The incident took place around 6.15 pm in Santragachi, about nine km from Howrah.
This was the fifth mishap involving a bridge in the state since September that resulted in a loss of six lives.
“Two persons have died and several injured. The state government would give ₹5 lakh to the families of the dead and ₹1 lakh each to those injured. We would conduct an inquiry into the incident,” said chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who rushed to the spot and also to the hospital along with chief secretary Malay De.
“The stampede was triggered after parallel announcements regarding switching of platforms was made,” said the chief minister.
As the passengers rushed to reach the platforms after the announcement, the footbridge (FOB) was found to be too narrow to handle the pressure.
“There are two kids and two women among the 14 injured,” said local Trinamool Congress MLA Jatu Lahiri.
Sanjay Ghosh, South Eastern Railway spokesperson, said the two dead were Tasher Sardar, resident of Hariharpara in Bengal’s Murshidabad district and Kamalakanta Singha, resident of Kolaghat in East Midnapore district.
“There was a simultaneous announcement on the public address system about two trains arriving at the station. This triggered a mad scramble among the passengers, who wanted to get on to the FOB connecting platforms 2 and 3,” Ranjurima Das, a passenger who sustained minor injuries, told a TV channel.
Angry passengers alleged that chaotic scenes are an everyday affair at the station.