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Elphinstone Road Stampede

Elphinstone Road Station shown in March 2016
Date	29 September 2017
Location	Elphinstone Road railway station Mumbai, India
Coordinates	19°00′27″N 72°50′10″E / 19.007533°N 72.835976°E / 19.007533; 72.835976
Cause	Overcrowding of Pedestrian foot over bridge
Deaths	23 to 27
Non-fatal injuries	50
Inquiries	High-level Enquiry
Inquest	Chief Safety Officer of Western Railways Government of Maharashtra Ministry of Railways

On 29 September 2017, a stampede occurred at the suburban Elphinstone Road railway station in Mumbai, India. At least 23 people were killed and 39 others injured. The incident took place between the Parel railway station and Elphinstone road railway station.

Incident

On the morning of 29 September 2017, around 10:30am local time, a stampede erupted on a footbridge at the suburban Elphinstone road railway station in Mumbai which connects two of the city's major suburban lines.

Cause

The incident occurred during the morning rush hour at Elphinstone road station, when four trains arrived simultaneously at the station. It was raining at the time and there were already numerous people crammed into the narrow bridge. Someone may have slipped and fell when passengers resumed their travel after the rain, leading to the stampede.

A rumour that the pedestrian bridge was collapsing may have caused passengers to surge forwards to flee. According to a witness, the situation worsened as police and emergency officials did not respond immediately or enforce crowd control measures.

At least 23 people died and 39 others were injured in the stampede. According to a hospital's official, most of the people who died suffered from chest compression and haemorrhage due to injuries.

Police investigation

"The overbridge of Elphinstone station was overcrowded and due to rain it got slippery too. This caused panic and resulted in the stampede," said Atul Shrivastav, IG of the Railway Protection Force. A case of Accidental Death (ADR), was registered at the Dadar Police Station. S. Jaykumar, Additional Commissioner of Police (Central Region), Mumbai also stated that overcrowding was a factor.

Reactions

Piyush Goyal, the then Minister of Railways, announced a compensation of ₨.10 lakh or about $15,200 for the victims.

President of India, Ram Nath Kovind expressed grief over the "loss of lives in the stampede in Mumbai". Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences to "all those who have lost their lives due to the stampede in Mumbai", in a tweet.

Venkaiah Naidu, the Vice President; Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra; Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal and opposition leader Rahul Gandhi also expressed condolences over the deaths caused by the stampede.

Shiv Sena called the stampede "a public massacre of the people by the government".

Many Indians took to social media and called out the government for spending on projects such as a new bullet train from Mumbai to Ahmedabad in Gujarat, instead of focusing on basic infrastructure. Many media reports criticised the infrastructure in the station and reported the incident as a tragedy which was "waiting to happen". MNS chief Raj Thackeray warned PM that he would not allow a single brick to be placed for the bullet train in Mumbai, until the infrastructure of local railways was made better.

In the aftermath, railway minister Piyush Goyal said that the government has ordered a probe into the incident. He also ordered a safety and capacity audit of all foot over-bridges at suburban stations across Mumbai.

In February 2018, the Indian Army opened three new Bailey bridge footbridges at Elphinstone Road, Currey Road and Ambivli. These were erected quickly, in response to the stampede.

References

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5. ^ "Elphinstone Road station stampede: 22 dead, 39 hurt; government announces compensation, orders probe". The Times of India. 29 September 2017.
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13. ^ Boyle, Danny (29 September 2017). "Mumbai station stampede kills at least 22 amid rumour bridge was collapsing". The Telegraph. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
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24. "A Letter, 100 Tweets Had Warned About Mumbai Bridge Where 22 Were Killed". NDTV.com. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
25. "Mumbai stampede tragedy could have been prevented". Retrieved 30 September 2017.
26. Pai, Madhav. "The Mumbai rail stampede was waiting to happen. Here's how we can prevent a similar tragedy". Scroll.in. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
27. "Elphinstone Road station stampede: Behind the tragedy, large-scale neglect of infrastructure". The Indian Express. 30 September 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
28. Nair, Arun (30 September 2017). "Mumbai Stampede: PM Modi 'Liar', Won't Allow Bullet Trains in Mumbai, Says Raj Thackeray". NDTV.
29. Kumar, Ashna (30 September 2017). "Raj Thackeray threatens Modi's bullet train dream, says will stall project". India Today.
30. Eloise Stevens, Vidhi Doshi (29 September 2017). "Stampede at Indian train station kills at least 22". The Washington Post. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
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32. "Built by the Army, Elphinstone Road foot-overbridge inaugurated by a flower vendor". The Times of India. 27 February 2018.

• 2017 disasters in India
• Disasters in Maharashtra
• 2010s in Mumbai
• History of Mumbai (1947–present)
• Human stampedes in 2017
• Human stampedes in India
• September 2017 events in India
• Bridge disasters in India
• Rail transport in Mumbai
• Urban decay in India