At least 18 people have died in a crush at a railway station in India’s capital, Delhi, as surging crowds scrambled to catch trains for the world’s largest religious gathering, the Kumbh Mela. The event attracts tens of millions of Hindu faithful every 12 years.
The death toll includes 10 women and three children, local media reported. Authorities confirmed 15 deaths at a hospital in the city, with most likely dying from hypoxia or blunt injury. Several others were injured, mostly stable with orthopaedic injuries.
Eyewitnesses described the scene as chaotic, saying people collided and fell on escalators and stairs after a platform for a special train was suddenly shifted. Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw ordered a high-level inquiry into the accident, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences to those affected.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/15/at-least-15-people-die-in-crowd-crushes-at-new-dehli-railway-station