Death toll rises to at least 18 in New Delhi railway station stampede

By Mayank Bhardwaj

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The death toll in a stampede at the main railway station in India's capital New Delhi rose to at least 18, including five children, media reports said on Sunday, citing the Press Trust of India news agency.

The youngest of the victims was seven years old and the oldest 79, according to multiple media outlets, citing a list provided by police. All but four of the 18 people named were female.

Atishi, the chief minister of the national capital territory and who goes by only one name, said on X that many of the victims were pilgrims who were going to attend the Hindu Maha Kumbh festival. She earlier told reporters that 15 people had died.

More than a dozen of the injured are being treated in hospital, media reports said.

The stampede occurred at about 8 p.m. (1430 GMT) on Saturday on two platforms where passengers were waiting to board trains to Prayagraj city, where the Maha Kumbh is taking place, media reports said.

Media showed images and videos of crowds of people falling over each other after the incident, as police and relief teams worked to try and ease the congestion.

"There was a sea of humanity at the railway station, and the crowd surged towards the train going to Prayagraj," a distraught woman told the India Today news channel. "I lost my belongings and barely survived."

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said an enquiry had been ordered into the incident.

Dozens of people were killed in a pre-dawn stampede at the Maha Kumbh in northern India last month as tens of millions of Hindus gathered to take a dip in sacred river waters on the most auspicious day of the six-week festival.

India has witnessed several major stampedes, most of which occurred at religious festivals or gatherings.

Delhi's lieutenant-governor VK Saxena, one of the capital territory's top officials, visited some of the injured in hospital, according to local media.

"This is a very tragic incident and we pray for those who have lost their lives," Atishi said.

There have been several rail accidents in India in the last two years, including a collision in 2023 that killed at least 288 people. India's railway network is the fourth biggest in the world and is undergoing a $30 billion upgrade as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's push to boost connectivity.

(Reporting by Mayank Bhardwaj; Editing by Kate Mayberry)