Kolkata: Two people were killed and at least twelve other were injured in a stampede at the Santragachi railway station on Tuesday evening. According to railway officials the mishap occurred when passengers from three different trains rushed to change platforms using a single foot overbridge connecting platforms 2 and 3.
According to Sanjay Ghosh, spokesperson for the South-Eastern Railways while the Nagercoil-Shalimar Express along with two EMU locals arrived at the same time, the Shalimar-Vishakhapatnam and Santragachi-Chennai Express were scheduled to arrive. Large number of passengers had either deboarded or was waiting at the station, leading to a huge rush on the overbridge.
Eleven passengers have been admitted to the Howrah General Hospital. Three other were administered first aid at the station, Ghosh said.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited the site of accident along with state officials. Banerjee has declared ₹ 5 lakh compensation for families of each of the dead individuals. She also announced compensation for the injured.
“Some of the recent incidents make me doubt if there is some sort of negligence or callousness on the railway’s part,” Banerjee said. The state will order an investigation into the matter, she added. She also said that none of the stakeholders are willing to take responsibility for the Amritsar incident. “The railway is the lifeline of the nation and there should be no compromise with security here,” she said.
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