A conflicting train announcement may have triggered the fatal stampede at New Delhi Railway Station on Saturday night (Feb 15), which claimed the lives of at least 18 people.

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According to a Railway Protection Force report, two announcements made just three minutes apart incorrectly stating different platforms for a Prayagraj-bound Kumbh Special train potentially led to the deadly chaos.

The first announcement stated that the train would leave from Platform 12, while a second announcement, which came just minutes before the "stampede-like situation", said that the train would depart from Platform 16.

The report of the deadly incident, prepared by the inspector in charge of RPF’s New Delhi post, stated that the chaos erupted after passengers from platforms 12-15 rushed to pedestrian bridges 2 and 3, converging on the staircases following the announcement for the Kumbh Special.

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Also read: 'Panic broke after sudden announcement', Eyewitnesses, railway authorities offer conflicting accounts of deadly stampede

Simultaneously, passengers from the Magadh Express and Uttar Sampark Kranti Express, which were departing from platforms 14 and 15, were descending the stairs, while others were waiting for the arriving Prayagraj Express. The resulting jostling caused several passengers to fall, only to be trampled by the surging crowd, according to the Hindustan Times.

As per the report, there was a sudden rise in the number of passengers at the station after the Shiv Ganga Express left platform number 12 (around 8.15 pm) which choked the pedestrian bridges number 2 and 3.

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“The RPF’s assistant security commissioner (ASC/NDLS) came to pedestrian bridge 2 and after assessing the crowd and asked the station director to stop the further sale of tickets and take precautions considering the heavy rush. The station director was also asked to start the special trains as soon as they were filled with passengers. Through announcements all on-duty and off-duty staff were directed to reach the platform and pedestrian bridges,” the inspector in charge said in the report.

Compounding the chaos, another announcement was made at 8:45 pm, declaring the departure of the Prayagraj-bound Kumbh Special from platform 12, even as RPF officials were struggling to clear the overcrowded pedestrian bridges.

“Soon after, another announcement was made that the special train will depart from platform number 16. It led to a stampede-like situation among passengers. Due to the presence of passengers of Magadh Express, Uttar Sampark Kranti Express, and Prayajraj Express at platform number 14 and 15, the movement of passengers stopped,” the in-charge’s incident report says.

The incident report puts forward a contrasting cause of the incident, refuting the version presented by the Indian Railways which claims that no announcement was made regarding Platform 16.

Stampede kills 18

In a tragic incident, a stampede at the New Delhi railway station claimed the lives of at least 18 and injured several others on Saturday night.

The ones who lost their lives include 11 women and five children, according to Indian media reports.

The deceased were identified as Aaha Devi, 79, Pinky Devi, 41, Sheela Devi, 50, Vyom, 25, Poonam Devi, 40, Lalita Devi, 35, Suruchi, 11, Krishna Devi, 40, Vijay Sah, 15, Neeraj, 12, Shanti Devi, 40, Pooja Kumar, 8, Sangeeta Malik, Poonam both aged 34, Mamta Jha, 40, Riya Singh, 7, Baby Kumari, 24, and Manoj, 47.

(With inputs from agencies)