At least 18 people have died and another 15 are injured after a stampede at the main railway station in India's capital New Delhi.
The incident occurred at about 8pm on Saturday local time on two platforms as passengers waited to board trains to Prayagraj city, where the Hindu Maha Kumbh festival is being hosted, media reports said.
The death toll included 14 women and three children, local media said.
Media showed images and videos of crowds pouring over each other at the station following the incident, as police and relief teams toiled to ease the congestion.
Family minutes away from being crushed
Shobha Devi was with her family on platform 14 to catch the train to Prayagraj when the stampede occurred.
"I have never seen such a crowd," she told ABC News.
"I was very scared. People were falling over each other. People were dying.
"I was holding my son's hand. I did not let go of his hand in the crowd."
She said the fact they had entered the platform before it started getting packed saved their lives.
"We were a little ahead of the crowd," she said.
"Had we been two to three minutes behind, we would have been crushed.
"This is why we were saved."
She and her family spent the night at the railway station and decided not to travel to Maha Kumbh, but instead return home to the neighbouring state of Haryana.
"When your life is saved, then everything is saved," she said.
Rupesh Kumar had also been planning on travelling to the festival to take part in the bathing ritual in the Ganga River.
He arrived at the station as the stampede was happening and was blocked from entering the platform.
"I managed to get on the bridge, but police were beating people [back] with sticks," he said.
He and his friends have also decided to cancel their trip.
"My family called me and told me not to go to Kumbh," he said.
"My heart is not feeling well. I have seen people dying, so I'm not going.
"If there is such a crowd here, how much of a crowd would there be at Kumbh?"
Festival pilgrims among victims
Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, who only uses one name, said on X that many of the victims were pilgrims who were going to attend the Maha Kumbh.
Organisers had expected 400 million people to attend this year's festival.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and some other federal ministers confirmed the stampede incident in posts on X without disclosing the death toll.
"Distressed by the stampede at New Delhi Railway Station. My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones," Mr Modi said on X.
India's Interior Minister Amit Shah said in a post on X that he had spoken to the railway minister and taken stock of the situation.
An inquiry was ordered into the incident and four special trains were dispatched to evacuate the rush caused at the railway station, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on X, adding that the situation was under control.
"The entire team is working to assist all those who have been affected by this tragic incident," he said.
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 a six-week festival.
"This is a very tragic incident and we pray for those who have lost their lives," Atishi said.
India has witnessed several rail accidents over the past two years, including a collision in 2023 that killed at least 288 people.
Indian Railways operates the fourth-largest train network in the world and it is currently undergoing a $47 billion upgrade as part of Mr Modi's push to boost connectivity.
Reuters
