MUMBAI: A stampede at Bandra Terminus early Sunday morning left ten people injured, two of them critically, as thousands of passengers rushed to board the unreserved Bandra-Gorakhpur Antyodaya Express en route to Uttar Pradesh for Diwali and Chhath Puja.
The chaos erupted around 2:45 AM when the 22-coach festival special train slowly approached platform number 1. Eyewitnesses reported that passengers broke through the queues to board the train, which had locked doors, causing some to fall between the coaches. This sparked panic on the platform, resulting in injuries as people scrambled to get on board. A video of the incident has since gone viral on social media.
Following the stampede, six to eight sacks of footwear and clothing were found on the tracks. The Western Railway has initiated an inquiry into the incident, while the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition criticized the government for failing to ensure smooth transportation during the festive season.
Despite the train’s seating capacity of 2,037, approximately 2,540 tickets had been issued, leading to severe overcrowding. Sources from the Government Railway Police indicated that a delayed Gorakhpur-bound train, which was 16 hours late, contributed to the larger crowd of about 2,500 to 3,000 people on the platform.
Railway Protection Force and GRP teams promptly transported the injured to Bhabha Hospital in Bandra and KEM Hospital in Parel. The incident has raised significant concerns regarding crowd management by railway authorities during peak travel seasons.
