Allahabad: At least 36 people were killed in a stampede at Allahabad railway station on Sunday evening, the railways said today.
Out
of these, only 20 bodies have been identified, which include 17 women.
All the bodies are at the Medical College Mortuary in Allahabad, where
post-mortem is being conducted.
The incident occured at 7 p.m.
near platform no 6, where a footbridge reportedly collapsed due to the
heavy rush of pilgrims who had converged on the Sangam for the Mauni
Amavasya Snan.
‘Help delayed’
Massive crowds surged
to the railway station from 5 p.m. Reports said someone fell during the
rush, causing others to topple over each other.
Eyewitnesses said no help reached the spot for a couple of hours.
An
NCR official said the bodies could be removed and the injured rushed to
hospital only after the security personnel reached the spot, a delay of
two hours.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed grief over
loss of lives in the stampede and instructed the Railway Ministry to
provide all possible assistance.
“I send my heartfelt condolences
to the members of the bereaved families and wish those injured a speedy
recovery,” Dr. Singh said.
The Central government has announced
an ex-gratia of Rs. 5 lakh to the next of kin of those killed, and Rs. 1
lakh each to the seriously injured pilgrims.