Commuters stampede on a bridge near Mumbai’s Elphinstone railway station, killing at least 22 people.
Advertisement
Meanwhile, on Friday, describing the incident, Shyam Doijade, an eyewitness, who helped injured people into ambulances after the incident told reporters, “The bridge is not big enough for the public”. The narrow foot over bridge is the cause for the stampede. “All the injured were rushed to the nearest hospitals”, said police officer Niket Kaushik.
The minister stayed back in Mumbai and is holding a meeting with top rail officials from Delhi.
“As of now 22 people have been confirmed to have died in the stampede and 27 others have been injured,”a local police official said”.
“Elphinstone Road-construction of 12 m wide new FOB connecting western railways and central railways after extension of platform number 1 and 2 towards north side by 100 meters”, Prabhu stated in the letter.
A worker cleans the Elphinstone railway stations foot over bridge where a stampede took place. Due to sudden heavy rains, people started gathering on the foot over bridge to take shelter.
So far, almost $8 billion has been promised to upgrade the suburban trains in Mumbai that are a lifeline for city’s 20 million people.
“There were too many people on the bridge, and the people were in hurry and wanted to move out”, said Brijesh Upadhyay, one of the many caught in the crowd.
Officer Rajaram Patel says nearby hospitals are treating the 19 women and 13 men for their injuries.
A day after the death toll from a devastating and deadly stampede on a railway footbridge in Mumbai rose to 23, the country’s railways minister is finally taking action. As quoted by ANI, Goyal said, “In next 7 days all suburban stations will be inspected to identify vulnerable issues; will speed up work on FOBs”.
For Anita and Babita Kamble, sisters who live in the railway quarters near the overbridge, a spurt in noise outside this morning seemed routine.
Advertisement
The festival-eve calamity sparked off angry reactions on social media, with many questioning lapses vis-a-vis safety and security of commuters even as mega-projects like Bullet Trains are announced.
