5 of 18 victims of stampede at Delhi railway station died due to traumatic asphyxia: Hospital

Five of the 18 victims of the stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station died due to traumatic asphyxia, the RML Hospital said on Sunday.

The LNJP handed over the bodies to the RML Hospital which conducted a post-mortem examination on them, it said.

“No injured were brought to RML Hospital. We received five dead bodies from LNJP for postmortem. Four of them were females and one a male,” a senior doctor said.

At least 18 people were killed in the overnight stampede at the packed railway station. A senior railway official said on Sunday that the incident occurred after some passengers slipped and fell on others while coming down from a footover bridge.

More than a dozen people were also injured in the stampede on Saturday night at the railway station which witnessed a surge of passengers waiting to board trains for Prayagraj — where the Maha Kumbh is underway — on platform number 14 and 15.

Also Read: New Delhi Station stampede: How Maha Kumbh-bound pilgrims lost their lives

Northern Railway’s Chief Public Relations Officer Himanshu Upadhyay said at the time of the incident, the Patna-bound Magadh Express was standing at platform number 14 and the New Delhi-Jammu Uttar Sampark Kranti Express was stationed at platform number 15.

“Some people who were coming down from the footover bridge towards platform numbers 14 and 15 using stairs slipped and fell on others,” he said, citing the cause of the stampede.

While some sources said delays in train departures and the sale of 1,500 general tickets every hour may have created a chaotic situation at the station, other sources indicated that the wrong announcement about the change of platforms may have created confusion that led to the stampede.

Railways have announced the names of two high administrative group officials, who will be part of the inquiry committee constituted to probe the stampede.

Narsingh Deo, Principal Chief Commercial Manager, Northern Railway and Pankaj Gangwar, Principal Chief Security Commissioner, Northern Railway are the members of the committee, the railways said.

The committee, which has commenced its inquiry, gave orders to secure all video footage of the New Delhi Railway Station. The inquiry was ordered by the railways on Saturday after the stampede.

A compensation of Rs 10 lakh each has been announced by the railways for the next of kin of those killed in the incident. Those seriously injured will get Rs 2.5 lakh and those with minor injuries Rs 1 lakh, the railway said.

President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh have condoled the loss of lives in the stampede.

“Deeply anguished to know about the loss of lives in a stampede at New Delhi railway station. I extend my heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and pray for speedy recovery of those injured,” Murmu said on X.

The prime minister said he was distressed by the stampede.

“My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that the injured have a speedy recovery. The authorities are assisting all those who have been affected by this stampede,” he said.

Opposition parties slammed the government over the loss of lives in the stampede.

Also Read: Stampede at New Delhi Railway Station: Chaos, mismanagement, and blame game

The Congress accused the government of attempting to hide the truth about the deaths and said it has once again highlighted the “failure” of the Railways and the “insensitivity” of the government.

The AAP said it was a glaring example of “gross mismanagement” and lack of crowd control measures.

The Delhi Police put out a list of the 18 deceased and launched an investigation into the stampede.

“Our main target is to investigate the main cause which caused the stampede. We will collect all data of CCTV footage and announcements done during that time,” a police source said.

Hospital sources said all bodies of victims were handed over to their family members by 9 am on Sunday.

Some sources said most family members took the bodies of their loved ones without getting a postmortem, however, there was no official confirmation of this.