AT LEAST 15 people lost their lives in a stampede at a railway station in New Delhi late on Saturday, February 15, as thousands of devotees rushed to catch trains to the Kumbh Mela, the world’s largest religious gathering.
AFP reported the incident occurred as crowds scrambled to make their way to Prayagraj, where the ongoing six-week festival is being held.
The festival, which draws tens of millions of Hindu pilgrims every 12 years, has been plagued by tragic crowd disasters, with the most recent incident occurring just last month, when at least 30 people died in a stampede at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati rivers.
Dr. Ritu Saxena, Deputy Medical Superintendent at Lok Nayak Hospital in New Delhi, confirmed the fatalities and said the victims did not have open injuries.
She suggested that the cause of death was likely hypoxia or blunt force trauma, though a final determination will be made after autopsies.
Eleven other people were injured, mostly with orthopedic injuries, but their conditions were described as stable.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his distress over the tragedy, offering his condolences to the families of the deceased and wishing the injured a swift recovery.
"My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones. I pray for a speedy recovery for the injured," he said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Delhi’s Governor, Vinai Kumar Saxena, assured the public that disaster management teams had been deployed and that all hospitals in the capital were prepared for any additional emergencies.
In an effort to ease the overwhelming demand for transport, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that special trains were being run from New Delhi to help accommodate the influx of pilgrims heading to the event.
The Kumbh Mela, which is set to conclude on February 26, is one of the most significant milestones in the Hindu religious calendar.
Since the festival began last month, around 500 million devotees have already participated.
The festival is notorious for its crowd-related disasters, with one of the deadliest occurrences happening in 1954, when more than 400 people were killed during a stampede, marking one of the largest crowd tragedies in history.
Another 36 people died in a similar incident during the 2013 edition of the festival in Prayagraj.
As the festival continues, authorities are on high alert to ensure the safety and well-being of the millions of pilgrims attending this sacred event. – February 16, 2025
