Stampede Leaves At Least 22 Dead In Mumbai
Officials say a commuter stampede on a Mumbai railway bridge lashed by a monsoon storm during the morning rush hour Friday killed at least 22 people.
“The incident occurred as heavy rains lashed Mumbai and passengers took refuge on the foot overbridge. People at the front slipped and the huge crowd toppled over leading to the stampede,” spokesman Ravindra Bhakar told AFP.
“Twenty-two deaths have been confirmed, 14 men and eight women are among the dead. Some 32 passengers are injured.”
The toll was likely to rise, a disaster management cell spokesman warned, with several of the injured undergoing treatment in hospitals in India’s financial capital.
Trains were briefly halted and a formal enquiry has been ordered into the tragedy, Bhakar added.
The stampede broke out at 10:30 am (0500 GMT) near a ticket window on the bridge that connects the Elphinstone and Parel stations in south Mumbai.
TV footage showed commuters trying to revive the injured by pumping their chests and also carrying some down stairs to street level.
