18 die in Delhi station crush

NEW DELHI, Feb 16 (BBC/AFP): A crush at New Delhi Railway Station has left around 18 people dead and at least 10 injured. Thousands of people reportedly crammed into the railway station on Saturday night as they tried to board delayed trains.

Four of the victims were children, while 10 were women, according to a list released by officials. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his thoughts were "with all those who have lost their loved ones" in a post on X.

Crowd crushes are common in India where there is frequent overcrowding at religious events, festivals and public spaces.

The incident comes weeks after 30 people were killed in a pre-dawn crush at the religious festival, Kumbh Mela, in northern India, where tens of millions of Hindus had gathered to bathe in sacred river waters on one of the holy days of the six-week event.

In Delhi, witnesses told BBC Hindi that a "huge crowd" had gathered at the station, through which many people were travelling to and from the Kumbh Mela, which is being held in Prayagraj city in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh state. Hundreds of people were also waiting for trains to other places.

According to officials, two trains had been delayed at the station, while a third - heading to Prayagraj - was waiting to depart. Ruby Devi said the crowd at the Indian capital's main railway station had been so big she was unable to get inside.

Umesh Giri, whose wife Shilam Devi died in the crush, said that the crowd was "uncontrollable" as he tried to board the Prayagraj Express. Dharmendra Singh, who was also travelling to Prayagraj, told India's PTI news agency that there were" far more people than I have ever seen at this station".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was "distressed" by the stampede. "My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that the injured have a speedy recovery," he continued in a post on X.

The governor of the capital territory Delhi, Vinai Kumar Saxena said disaster management personnel had been told to deploy and "all hospitals are in readiness to address related exigencies."

Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said additional special trains were being run from New Delhi to clear the rush of devotees.

The six-week Kumbh Mela is the single biggest milestone on the Hindu religious calendar, and officials said around 500 million devotees have already visited the festival since it began last month.

More than 400 people died after they were trampled or drowned on a single day of the festival in 1954, one of the largest tolls in a crowd-related disaster globally.

Another 36 people were crushed to death in 2013, the last time the festival was staged in Prayagraj. "In front of me, six or seven women were taken away on stretchers. KPS Malhotra, deputy commissioner of police (railways), said that authorities were investigating what led to the crush.