15 women die in stampede in Mughalsarai railway station
MUGHALSARAI: Fifteen women were killed and 48 people injured in a stampede on the staircase of an over-bridge at Mughalsarai railway station in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday.
There was a sudden surge of people, who alighted from two trains which arrived almost simultaneously on platforms 5 and 6 around 1.45 p.m., on the staircase leading to the stampede, said Divisional Railway Manager H.K. Kala.
Nitin Ramesh Gokaran, Commissioner of Varanasi division, said the condition of seven of the 48 injured was serious and they were referred to Sir Sunder Lal Hospital in Varanasi.
The others are being treated at the railway hospital here.
The fasting women passengers were on their way to Varanasi, 20 km from here, for a dip in the Ganga on the occasion of a local festival. Compensation
Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad has announced Rs.2 lakh compensation for the kin of those killed and Rs.1 lakh for the injured. He also announced a Railway job for one member each from the victims’ families.
A high-level three-member committee had been set up to probe the stampede, he said. — PTI