Kolkata: Two dead, 12 injured in stampede at Santragachhi foot overbridge

The Chief Minister also announced a compensation of Rs five lakh each to the families of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh each to the injured.
Footwears lie along the railway tracks at Santragachi Station where a stampede took place in Howrah district of West Bengal Tuesday October 23 2018. | PTI
Footwears lie along the railway tracks at Santragachi Station where a stampede took place in Howrah district of West Bengal Tuesday October 23 2018. | PTI

KOLKATA: Two people were killed and 14 others were injured in a stampede at Santragachi railway station in Howrah district of West Bengal on Tuesday. Condition of several injured persons is critical.

The incident occurred at the foot-over-bridge between platform numbers two and three when two EMU locals and one express train arrived at the station on the outskirts of Kolkata at the same time at around 6.30 pm and the passengers rushed to board the locals. "The Nagercoil-Shalimar Express and two EMU locals arrived at the station at the same time while Shalimar-Vishakhapatnam Express and Santragachi-Chennai Express were scheduled to arrive shortly. As a result, it caused a rush and many people were climbing up and down the FOB which caused a stampede," Southeastern Railway (SER) spokesman Sanjay Ghosh said.

Eyewitnesses claimed that the incident occurred as the platforms designated for the EMU locals were changed at the last moment due to the incoming express trains which sent the passengers, mostly daily commuters heading back home after work in Kolkata, into a frenzy to catch the local trains.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reached the spot and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh for the deceased and Rs 1 lakh for the injured. She put the blame on the Railways and said that such incidents could have been avoided had the Railways would have been more careful. She also said that the state government will conduct an investigation into the incident. "Another unfortunate incident on railways today. Sadly, too many such tragedies are happening like this even during festive season, including Amritsar. Railways are the lifeline of our nation. Safety of rail passengers must be taken care of at all times," Mamata Banerjee wrote on Twitter.

SER opened two helpline numbers 032221072 at Kharagpur and 26295561 for Santragachi. For a railway station of six platforms, Santragachi has only one FOB that connects all the platforms. It is one of the most important junctions in the greater Kolkata region where many passengers coming from Kharagpur and Jamshedpur deboard to reach central and north Kolkata to avoid rush at Howrah railway station.

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