Bandra station stampede: Viral CCTV footage shows passengers in mad scramble to board express train

PTI, Oct 28, 2024, 12:38 PM IST

Mumbai: A CCTV footage has surfaced on social media showing passengers crowding and jostling to board an unreserved express train at Bandra Terminus, which led to a stampede that left ten persons injured.

The footage, purportedly from a CCTV camera on the north end of platform no. 1 at Bandra Terminus, shows the chaos that ensued when the 22-coach unreserved Bandra-Gorakhpur Antyodaya Express arrived from the railway yard around 2.44 am on Sunday.

As a large number of passengers attempted to board the unreserved train, some lost their footing and fell, causing a stampede that left several injured.

However, the CCTV footage, which has gone viral on social media, does not show the stampede, as it may have taken place on the other end of the platform.

The WR is operating more than 130 festival special trains for various destinations, especially Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, for the upcoming Diwali and Chhath festivals.

While the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s disaster management cell said ten passengers were injured in the incident in the early hours of Sunday, the Western Railway’s official statement claimed only two were hurt.

In the footage, passengers with bags and belongings on their heads and shoulders are seen crowding around the train’s doors. Some even carrying small drums blocked the entrance, with barely anyone getting to board the train.

It also shows passengers trying to board the train before it comes to a complete halt, while some are seen attempting to enter through an emergency exit window.

In the footage from the CCTV camera, which covered only a couple of coaches, one RPF personnel is seen trying to deal with the crowd near the second coach from the engine, but a few more personnel later arrived, pushing through the crowd to help him.

In the viral footage, no one managed to enter the packed train.

Multiple videos of the incident circulated on social media on Sunday, one of which showed an injured passenger lying in a pool of blood on the platform as others continued boarding.

Another footage showed RPF personnel rushing injured passengers to the hospital with the help of others on the platform.