'1500 tickets were sold every hour': What caused the stampede at Delhi Railway Station

Eighteen people were killed and many others injured after a stampede broke out at the New Delhi Railway Station on Saturday late at night. The incident happened at platforms 14 and 15 of the New Delhi Railway Station, where people thronged to take the train bound for Prayagraj  - where the Maha Kumbh is underway. 

Delhi acting Chief Minister Atishi told reporters that 15 people had been brought dead at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital of central Delhi, of which three were children. 

Eyewitnesses claim the station witnessed an unprecedented crowd on Saturday evening, especially at the 14th and 15th platforms. Though the administration and the NDRF personnel tried to control the crowd from swelling, it was unmanageable, according to reports.

Local media reports claim that the Express train to Prayagraj was stationed at platform number 14, where a huge crowd waited. Around the same time, the Swatantrata Senani Express, heading Jainagar in Bihar, and Bhubaneshwar Rajdhani Express too were stationed at 12 and 13 platforms. Both trains were late for their departure, resulting in their passengers thronging the station. 

According to a passengers, some trains were delayed, causing the crowd to swell. 

Around 1500 tickets were sold by the Railways around the time, Jansatta quoted local TV channels. "We were 12 people going to Mahakumbh. We hadn’t even reached the platform but were at the stairs. My family, including my sister, were stuck in the crowd. We found her after half an hour, and by the time she was dead," an eyewitness told ANI.

There are also reports that a lot of passengers from platform 12 were heading to 16 after the announcement that a train would arrive at 16, causing the crowd to panic. "It was announced that the train coming on platform number 12 would come on platform number 16. So the crowd from 16 collided with those from other platforms. This caused a stampede," the passenger told reporters.

"I had a sleeper ticket for Purushottam Express. But, even those with confirmed tickets could not get anywhere near the trains. There was a lot of pushing and shoving. We decided to stay outside, a decision that saved our lives," Pramod Chaurasia, a passenger was quoted by Jansatta.