36 killed in Allahabad station stampede
Headlines 03:50
Allahabad, February 11, 2013: 36 persons have been killed and 39 others injured in a stampede at Allahabad railway station teeming with thousands of pilgrims returning after a holy dip at the Maha Kumbh last evening.
Divisional Railway Manager of Allahabad, Harindra Rao, said 10 people died at the station itself while the remaining 12 succumbed to injuries on way to hospital.
Rao also said over 20 people are undergoing treatment at the Railway Hospital and the SRN Hospital in the city and the condition of 15 of them is stated to be critical.
The stampede occurred at 7 PM when Platforms No 5 and 6 were packed with thousands of passengers.
Eyewitnesses said the stampede at Platform No 6 was triggered near a foot overbridge when hundreds of passengers rushed to board a train whose arrival was being announced in a public address system. Platform No 6 was later sealed by authorities.
The bodies of some of the victims shrouded in white cloth were kept at the platform for several hours.
Preliminary reports said the stampede broke out when the railing leading to a footbridge collapsed but Railways Minister P K Bansal discounted such a possibility saying this had not happened.
Bansal said overcrowding at the platforms may have led to the stampede.
Railway Minister said that arrangements for additional trains are being made to clear the heavy rush.
Divisional Railway Manager of Allahabad, Harindra Rao, said 10 people died at the station itself while the remaining 12 succumbed to injuries on way to hospital.
Rao also said over 20 people are undergoing treatment at the Railway Hospital and the SRN Hospital in the city and the condition of 15 of them is stated to be critical.
The stampede occurred at 7 PM when Platforms No 5 and 6 were packed with thousands of passengers.
Eyewitnesses said the stampede at Platform No 6 was triggered near a foot overbridge when hundreds of passengers rushed to board a train whose arrival was being announced in a public address system. Platform No 6 was later sealed by authorities.
The bodies of some of the victims shrouded in white cloth were kept at the platform for several hours.
Preliminary reports said the stampede broke out when the railing leading to a footbridge collapsed but Railways Minister P K Bansal discounted such a possibility saying this had not happened.
Bansal said overcrowding at the platforms may have led to the stampede.
Railway Minister said that arrangements for additional trains are being made to clear the heavy rush.
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