Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia
The crowd on the footbridge grew larger as people tried to take cover during a rain shower. It is reported that a person may have slipped which lead to the initial blockage. Many television viewers witnessed many bodies jammed together against a railing. Some of the victims even jumped from the bridge.
The injured were taken to the King Edward Memorial Hospital for treatment. The doctors at the hospital asked for blood donations.
The bridge is believed to be constructed during the British colonial times. For a while, the bridge has been described as a safety hazard according to a local lawmaker.
Piyush Goel, who is currently serving as the country’s railways minister expressed his condolences. The Indian rail network carries around 23 million passengers daily and connects 8,000 stations across the country. Moreover, suburban trains carry an estimated 8 million travelers daily.
Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a $17-billion high-speed train from Mumbai to Ahmedabad. Since then, he has received criticisms for not addressing the overcrowding issues for the country’s local trains. Later that day, Prime Minister Modi expressed his “deepest condolences to all those who have lost their lives due to the stampede in Mumbai.”
In an analysis done by a data journalism website, around nine people die every day on Mumbai’s local train tracks.
For more information, please see:
LA Times – At least 22 killed in stampede at Mumbai rail station – 29 September, 2017
CNN – Mumbai stampede kills 22, injures 35 at train station – 29 September, 2017
