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| Monday, 15 November 2004 |
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Stampede at New Delhi railway station kills four women, girl NEW DELHI, Sunday (AFP) Four women and a 12-year-old girl died and at least 10 people were injured in a stampede at the Indian capital's main railway station as thousands tried to board a train, officials said. Survivors said hundreds were caught up in the stampede as people rushed to board a train about to leave for Patna, capital of the eastern state of Bihar, to celebrate a popular Hindu festival in the state. "The railway hospital has given us reports of five deaths," said D.P.S. Sandhu, spokesman for state-run Northern Railways. He said at least 10 people were hospitalised with injuries. The dead, most of them elderly, were pushed from behind as they were trying to descend a flight of stairs, said Railways Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav, who visited the injured in hospital. He told reporters his ministry would pay 100,000 rupees (nearly 2,200 dollars) to the next-of-kin of those killed and ordered an inquiry. Television footage showed thousands of people crowding the platforms. Most were on their way to Bihar to celebrate "Chhat Pooja," a Hindu festival popular in the state, reports said. The stampede was triggered when an elderly woman slipped and fell while going down the steps to the platform, New Delhi station security chief Sanjay Kishore said. "This led to the stampede in which five people, including the old woman and a 12-year-old girl, died," the United News of India quoted him as saying. The girl's father, identified as Rajeshwar by the news agency, said he managed to save three of his sons. "But I could not get hold of her in the crowd. We all celebrated her birthday only yesterday," he said. |
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