First responders describe Delhi stations stampede scene: ‘Littered with footwear’

The first two units of the department rushed from Rani Jhansi Road station but got stuck in traffic near Desh Bandhu Gupta Road.

New Delhi: The fire services department was the first responder when the stampede was reported at the New Delhi Railway Station on Saturday night. The first two units of the department rushed from the closest Rani Jhansi Road station but got stuck in traffic around Desh Bandhu Gupta Road, prompting the Connaught Place station to dispatch two teams to the New Delhi Railway station via Ranjit Singh Flyover.

Rajinder Atwal, an official whose team rushed from Connaught Place, said he saw thousands of slippers and sandals on the stairs to platform 14/15 (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

Rajinder Atwal, an official whose team rushed from Connaught Place, said he saw thousands of slippers and sandals on the stairs to platform 14/15. “On the platform, there was still a large crowd. I keep going to the railway station regularly but have never seen such a crowd in my life.”

He said there was no train on platform 14 when they arrived at the scene. Passengers were boarding a train at platform 15. Atwal said he was told the crowd had reduced, but did not seem like it. “There were so many people on other platforms too. From the footover bridge, I could see that the crowd at platform 13 had swelled so much that any mishap could have occurred,” said Atwal.

Manish Kumar, an official whose team was the first to reach the site, said they were closest to the Paharganj side of the station but there was heavy traffic. “We knew we would not be able to reach. So, we tried going from the Ajmeri Gate side. Even on that side, there was heavy traffic as people had started rushing out after the stampede scene.”

Kumar said one side was barricaded for traffic management. He added vehicles were moving out from the other side because of this, leaving no space for emergency vehicles to move in.

Officials said the situation was “pathetic” and “grave”. Kumar said the crowd was uncontrollable, and the people were in panic and crying. He said their team helped inform many relatives about hospitals where the injured were being taken. He added many were separated from their relatives during the rush.

Officials and the porters at the station had already moved the bodies before the first respondents arrived. The fire department helped pick up three bodies and evacuate some injured out of the station, Delhi Fire Services chief Atul Garg said.