A rush-hour stampede at a railway station in Mumbai, India, around 10:30 a.m. local time (1 a.m. EDT) resulted in multiple deaths Thursday.

Over 30 people injured in the incident were admitted at the King Edward Memorial Hospital, Western Railway — a division of Indian Railways — said. The incident, which apparently happened when four trains arrived at the same time at Prabhadevi Railway Station, formerly known as Elphinstone Station, during peak hours, resulted in at least 22 deaths, reports claimed.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on his Twitter account the situation was being constantly monitored. He also mentioned India Railways Minister Piyush Goyal was in Mumbai — the commercial capital of India in the western state of Maharashtra — to take a stock of the situation.

The stampede was reported on the north foot-over bridge connecting Elphinstone Road Station and Parel Railway Station during heavy rains, Western Railway said on its Twitter account. A few commuters slipped on the bridge upon the arrival of the trains which resulted in the chaos, Indian news channel NDTV reported, citing witnesses. Railway stations in Mumbai are usually very crowded during the peak hours.

The railway authorities shared helpline numbers on Twitter.


The incident triggered uproar on social media, with several users blaming the authorities for the careless attitude toward the poor infrastructure that resulted in the tragedy. Indian Railways Minister said on Twitter a high-level inquiry was ordered into the incident.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh ($7,603) for the kins of the deceased.

Many social media users, apart from local media outlets, posted videos of the tragic incident on Twitter mourning the loss of lives.

While several users expressed anger and suggested the tragedy could be averted if the authorities paid heed earlier, others posted condolences for the deceased. The foot-over bridge was apparently too narrow for the crowds to pass during peak hours.


Apart from Mumbai Police, some Twitter users also tried to get help for the victims on the microblogging site. Uber India said it would also do its bit by helping victims and dynamic pricing would be off. However, it did not mention the areas or the time duration for which the dynamic pricing would be off.

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