Brock211211849 at 07:11, 1 January 2026

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{{Short description|2025 crowd crush in New Delhi, India}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox event
| image = Platform 14 and 15 of New Delhi railway station.jpg
| caption = The footbridge above platforms 14 and 15 of the [[New Delhi railway station]], where the crowd crush took place
| date = {{start date|df=yes|2025|02|15}}
| place = [[New Delhi railway station]], [[New Delhi]], India
| coordinates = {{coord|28|38|27.7|N|77|13|17.4|E|scale:100000_region:IN|display=inline,title}}
| type = [[Crowd collapses and crushes|Crowd collapse and crush]]
| cause = Train delays leading to overcrowding
| reported deaths = 18
| reported injuries = 15
}}

On 15 February 2025, a [[crowd crush]] killed at least 18 people and injured 15 others at the [[New Delhi railway station]] in [[New Delhi, India]]. The crush occurred after some passengers began to slip on a footbridge above platforms 14 and 15, causing a crushing pile of people to form in the already overcrowded station.

Leading up to the incident, between 400–500 million [[Hindu]] worshipers had been traveling to the religious festival [[2025 Prayag Maha Kumbh Mela|Maha Kumbh]] in [[Prayagraj]], northern India, a festival which takes place every three years in one of four cities in the country. Overbooking tickets, train delays, and confusion between similar-sounding rail lines all led to the hazardous and crowded conditions which caused the crush. The youngest victim was a 7-year-old girl, and the oldest a 79-year-old woman.

According to ''[[The Hindu]]'', the railway and public officials attempted to silence information about the casualties of the crush. Lieutenant Governor of Delhi [[Vinai Kumar Saxena]] is reported to have edited a post he made about the incident on [[Twitter|X]] to remove any mentions of the deaths. The information was eventually released, and a [[₹]]1,000,000 [[ex gratia]] compensation fund was established for the families of the victims. A high-level investigation made up of a two-member committee was launched to determine the cause of the crush. New crowd control measures including special holding areas and operating manual updates were announced for sixty high-traffic stations following the incident.

== Background ==
In the days leading up to the tragedy, the major religious festival [[Maha Kumbh]] had been taking place in [[Prayagraj]], [[Uttar Pradesh]], northern India,<ref name="APNews">{{cite web |title=At least 18 people are dead after a stampede at New Delhi railway station in India |url=https://apnews.com/article/india-stampede-new-delhi-train-station-fe02ef8a72909f9afcfb4075c0467352 |work=[[AP News]] |date=16 February 2025 |access-date=16 February 2025 |archive-date=15 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250215235131/https://apnews.com/article/india-stampede-new-delhi-train-station-fe02ef8a72909f9afcfb4075c0467352 |url-status=live }}</ref> about {{cvt|624|km}} southeast of the capital of [[New Delhi]].<ref name="AlJ">{{cite web |title=Children among 18 killed in stampede at New Delhi train station in India |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/16/children-among-15-killed-in-crush-at-new-delhi-train-station-in-india |work=[[Al Jazeera]] |date=16 February 2025 |access-date=16 February 2025}}</ref> The festival, which ran from 13 January to 26 February 2025,<ref name="Kaul"/> involves devotees bathing in the holy water at the confluence of the [[Ganges]] and [[Yamuna]] rivers to wash away sins.<ref name="Sampson"/> The festival, which takes place every three years in one of four cities in India,<ref name="Sampson"/> regularly saw a large number of [[Hindu]] pilgrims.<ref name="APNews"/><ref name="Mukul"/> An estimated 400–500 million believers had visited the festival since it began,<ref name="AlJ"/><ref name="Sampson"/> more than usual as the festival also coincided with a celestial alignment occurring every 144 years.<ref name="Sampson"/> Despite a prior history of crowd crushes at large religious events in the country, including one which [[2025 Prayag Maha Kumbh Mela crowd crush|took place just a few weeks prior during the same festival which saw 30 casualties]],<ref name="Kaul">{{cite web |last1=Kaul |first1=Vitasta |last2=Lakhera |first2=Vedaant |last3=Sharma |first3=Ashutosh |title=How many more must die before government takes railway safety and crowd management seriously? |url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/news/new-delhi-railway-station-stampede-kumbh-mela-2025/article69228901.ece |work=[[Frontline (magazine)|Frontline]] |date=17 February 2025 |access-date=18 February 2025 |archive-date=17 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250217120233/https://frontline.thehindu.com/news/new-delhi-railway-station-stampede-kumbh-mela-2025/article69228901.ece |url-status=live }}</ref> around 1,500 tickets were regularly sold every hour at the train station,<ref name="Chen"/> with an excess 2,600 tickets over the 5,000 maximum sold the day of the incident.<ref name="Mukul">{{cite web |last1=Mukul |first1=Sushim |title=Five red flags Railways missed just ahead of New Delhi stampede |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/new-delhi-station-stampede-details-reasons-causes-announcement-maha-kumbh-prayagraj-platform-special-train-2681227-2025-02-17 |work=[[India Today]] |date=17 February 2025 |access-date=17 February 2025 |archive-date=17 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250217123801/https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/new-delhi-station-stampede-details-reasons-causes-announcement-maha-kumbh-prayagraj-platform-special-train-2681227-2025-02-17 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Porecha"/> This caused the platforms, which were only built to hold up to 3,000 passengers comfortably, to be overcrowded.<ref name="Porecha"/>

== Incident ==
{{Quote box
|quote = I have been working here for nearly 25 years, but have never seen anything like this [crowd] before during the Kumbh Mela
|author = — [[Railway porter]] Lakhanlal Meena
|source = reporting on the incident to the magazine ''[[Frontline (magazine)|Frontline]]''<ref name="Kaul"/>
|width = 25%
|align = right
|quoted = yes
}}
Between 9:15pm and 9:30pm on February 15, 2025,<ref name="Porecha"/> thousands had gathered to board a train at the [[New Delhi railway station]] for the festival.<ref name="Bhardwaj"/> The delay of two trains beforehand, however, had led to many of those waiting to become impatient.<ref name="AlJ"/> Furthermore, confusion between the routes "Prayagraj Special", arriving at platform 16, and "Prayagraj Express", already arrived at platform 14, confused some passengers, making them believe they would miss their train.<ref name="Mukul"/><ref name="HT">{{cite web |title=Did passengers' confusion over train names lead to New Delhi railway station stampede? |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/did-passengers-confusion-over-train-names-lead-to-new-delhi-railway-station-stampede-101739701876547.html |work=[[Hindustan Times]] |date=16 February 2025 |access-date=16 February 2025 |archive-date=16 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250216123207/https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/did-passengers-confusion-over-train-names-lead-to-new-delhi-railway-station-stampede-101739701876547.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Additionally, while rope dividers and heightened security was typically present during other large travel seasons like [[Chhath]], no such precautions were in place on 15 February.<ref name="Kaul"/>

While passengers were traversing an overhead footbridge connecting platforms 14 and 15, some began to slip while descending, possibly due to a passenger fainting,<ref name="Sampson"/> which caused a crushing pile of people to form.<ref name="Chen">{{cite web |last1=Chen |first1=Liu Chuen |last2=Tiwari |first2=Pushkar |title=Delhi Railway Station Stampede Updates: Families' Desperate Search For Missing Loved Ones As Death Count Touches 18 |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/new-delhi-railway-station-chaos-deaths-live-updates-maha-kumbh-mela-prayagraj-7719911 |work=[[NDTV]] |date=16 February 2025 |access-date=16 February 2025 |archive-date=16 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250216041436/https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/new-delhi-railway-station-chaos-deaths-live-updates-maha-kumbh-mela-prayagraj-7719911 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Bajpai |first1=Shubham |title=Delhi Railway Station Stampede Highlights: Additional GRP, RPF personnel deployed for crowd management |url=https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/new-delhi-railway-station-stampede-live-death-count-injured-pm-modi-ashwini-vaishnaw-congress-officials-cause-mahakumbh-prayagraj-train-latest-updates-976422 |work=[[India TV]] |date=16 February 2025 |access-date=16 February 2025 |archive-date=16 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250216022249/https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/new-delhi-railway-station-stampede-live-death-count-injured-pm-modi-ashwini-vaishnaw-congress-officials-cause-mahakumbh-prayagraj-train-latest-updates-976422 |url-status=live }}</ref> Alongside the already large amount of people running and pushing to try to board the train, panic quickly arose and the situation deteriorated quickly.<ref name="AlJ"/> According to those who witnessed the crush, the piling of people soon turned into chaos,<ref name="APNews"/> only worsened after someone in the crowd called "stampede".<ref name="AlJ"/> [[Railway porter]]s and "[[coolie]]s" became the first responders to the incident, carrying victims and unconscious passengers away from the crush, as well as using private vehicles to drive them to the nearby [[Lok Nayak Hospital]], as ambulances could not reach the scene.<ref name="Kaul"/><ref name="Bhandari">{{cite web |last1=Bhandari |first1=Hemani |last2=Singh |first2=Paras |title=How porters became first line of rescue in New Delhi stn stampede |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/delhi-news/how-porters-became-first-line-of-rescue-in-new-delhi-stn-stampede-101739734609497.html |work=[[Hindustan Times]] |date=17 February 2025 |access-date=17 February 2025}}</ref> An emergency call was made during the incident at around 9:55pm, where four fire tenders became the first proper emergency staff on the scene,<ref name="TIE"/> arriving 40–45 minutes after the incident had begun.<ref name="Kaul"/> Police and relief teams later helped to control the situation.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Grounds |first1=Ellie |title=Stampede at Indian railway station kills Maha Kumbh festival pilgrims |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-16/india-railway-station-stampede/104942510 |work=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] |date=15 February 2025 |access-date=16 February 2025 |archive-date=16 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250216193232/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-16/india-railway-station-stampede/104942510 |url-status=live }}</ref> According to the coolies and other witnesses originally at the scene, hardly any of the relief help came from the police and railway authorities,<ref name="Bhandari"/><ref name="Goel"/> recounting that there were only two [[Railway Protection Force]] (RPF) authorities present when the incident began.<ref name="Kaul"/> Despite the low number present, video of a RPF woman saving a five-month-old baby from the incident circulated online.<ref>{{cite web |title=New Delhi Station Stampede: With Child In Hand, This Woman Constable Performs Duty At NDLS |url=https://www.ndtv.com/video/new-delhi-station-stampede-with-child-in-hand-this-woman-constable-performs-duty-at-ndls-904042 |work=[[NDTV]] |date=18 February 2025 |access-date=18 February 2025 |archive-date=18 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250218064632/https://www.ndtv.com/video/new-delhi-station-stampede-with-child-in-hand-this-woman-constable-performs-duty-at-ndls-904042 |url-status=live }}</ref> Four trains were additionally sent to evacuate the sudden surge of passengers.<ref name="AlJ"/>

== Casualties and information blackout ==
[[File:Lok Nayak Hospital in New Delhi 06.jpg|thumb|250px|alt=A brick wall and fence beside a sign reading the entrance to the hospital|Victims and wounded were brought to [[Lok Nayak Hospital]]]]
According to the Indian newspaper ''[[The Hindu]]'', the railway initially tried to prevent news about any casualties from reaching the press.<ref name="Porecha"/> Originally, statements from the railway only said some passengers had been rushed to the hospital.<ref name="Porecha"/> Furthermore, press was not allowed to enter the hospital which received victims from the crush.<ref name="Goel"/> This was likely due to multiple victims from the crush being crammed onto a single bed due to a lack of space at the hospital, according to the family of some of the victims.<ref name="Goel"/> In contrast to this information blackout, Union Defence Minister [[Rajnath Singh]] and Lieutenant Governor of Delhi [[Vinai Kumar Saxena]] posted on [[Twitter|X]] condoling the deaths.<ref name="Porecha"/> Saxena's post was then edited around 12:24am to remove any mention of casualties.<ref name="Porecha"/> Singh's remained unedited, however, and the Chief Casualty Medical Officer at the hospital confirmed the deaths soon after.<ref name="Porecha"/> Only 20 hours after the incident did the railways officially acknowledge any deaths had occurred.<ref name="Porecha"/> Initial reports by the chief minister of the [[National Capital Territory of Delhi]] stated there had been 15 casualties and 15 injured.<ref name="Sampson">{{cite web |last1=Sampson |first1=Eve |title=15 Reported Dead in Stampede at New Delhi Rail Station |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/15/world/asia/kumbh-mela-stampede-delhi-station.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=15 February 2025 |access-date=16 February 2025 |archive-date=15 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250215225813/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/15/world/asia/kumbh-mela-stampede-delhi-station.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Bhardwaj"/> By the following day, this number had increased to 18 casualties: 14 of whom being women, and 5 of whom being children.<ref name="APNews"/><ref name="Bhardwaj">{{cite web |last1=Bhardwaj |first1=Mayank |title=Death toll rises to at least 18 in New Delhi railway station stampede |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/india/death-toll-rises-least-18-new-delhi-railway-station-stampede-2025-02-16/ |work=[[Reuters]] |date=16 February 2025 |access-date=16 February 2025}}</ref> The youngest victim was a 7-year-old girl and the oldest a 79-year-old woman.<ref name="Porecha"/> Other victims included an 8-year-old girl, a 12-year-old boy, a 15-year-old girl, a 24-year-old woman, a 25-year-old man, nine 35-to-45-year-old women, a 45-year-old man, and a 47-year-old man.<ref name="Porecha"/> Many of the victims were rushed to the nearby Lok Nayak Hospital in New Delhi.<ref name="APNews"/><ref name="TIE"/>

== Response ==
Following the crowd crush, security was heightened at train stations to help in crowd management and to prevent further incidents from immediately occurring.<ref name="TIE">{{cite web |title=New Delhi Railway Station Stampede Live Updates: Day after 18 killed, additional GRP, RPF personnel deployed for crowd management at Delhi station |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/delhi-news-live-updates-stampede-railway-station-death-injured-maha-kumbh-9838439/ |work=[[The Indian Express]] |date=16 February 2025 |access-date=16 February 2025 |archive-date=16 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250216071131/https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/delhi-news-live-updates-stampede-railway-station-death-injured-maha-kumbh-9838439/ |url-status=live }}</ref> This was accomplished through the deployment of the [[Government Railway Police]] (GRP) and [[Railway Protection Force]] (RPF) to the area, who used loud speakers to make continuous announcements to the crowds of passengers.<ref name="TIE"/> Additionally, the four additional trains sent to the station stayed to help carry travelers for the remaining duration of the festival, with five additional trains expected to join in the effort on 17 February.<ref name="Porecha"/><ref name="TIE"/> On 17 February 2025, new temporary and permanent holding areas outside the platforms were announced at sixty railways, including New Delhi's, experiencing a high volume of passengers to prevent a similar incident from occurring.<ref name="RCCP">{{cite web |title=Special holding area, new manual: Railways' crowd-control plan post NDLS stampede |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/special-holding-area-new-manual-railways-crowd-control-plan-post-ndls-stampede-101739801600068.html |work=[[Hindustan Times]] |date=17 February 2025 |access-date=17 February 2025}}</ref> These temporary holding areas until trains arrive reportedly had worked well in Prayagraj where the festival was taking place, but had not been implemented at other stations.<ref name="RCCP"/> Furthermore, a separate manual for crowd control was released by Union Minister of Railways Vaishnaw, which included raising awareness for passengers to not sit on the footbridge stairs while waiting, among other advice.<ref name="RCCP"/>

Indian Prime Minister [[Narendra Modi]] released a statement that he was "distressed by the stampede."<ref name="APNews"/> The Delhi High Court on February 19, 2025 ordered the Indian Railways and other stakeholders to find ways to prevent such tragedies from happening again.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Singh |first=Shekhar |date=2025-02-19 |title='Direct consequence of blatant disregard for safety regulations': Delhi HC on railway station stampede |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/delhi/2025/Feb/19/direct-consequence-of-blatant-disregard-for-safety-regulations-delhi-hc-on-railway-station-stampede |access-date=2025-02-24 |website=The New Indian Express |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-02-19 |title=Why tickets were sold beyond limit? Court raps Railways over Delhi stampede |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/law-news/story/new-delhi-railway-station-stampede-high-court-railways-centre-ticket-selling-platforms-2682313-2025-02-19 |access-date=2025-02-24 |website=India Today |language=en}}</ref> The Union Minister of Railways [[Ashwini Vaishnaw]] stated a high-level investigation made up of a two-member committee had been launched to determine the cause of the crush;<ref name="APNews"/><ref name="Chen"/> consisting of the Northern Railway Principal Chief Commercial Manager (PCCM), Narsingh Deo, and its Principal Chief Safety Commissioner (PCSC), Pankaj Gangwar.<ref name="HT"/> All CCTV footage from the station, alongside eyewitness testimony, was being collected for the investigation.<ref name="Porecha">{{cite web |last1=Porecha |first1=Maitri |title=High-level committee formed to probe into New Delhi railway station stampede |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/high-level-committee-formed-to-probe-into-new-delhi-railway-station-stampede/article69227090.ece |work=[[The Hindu]] |date=16 February 2025 |access-date=16 February 2025 |url-access=limited |archive-date=16 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250216170232/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/high-level-committee-formed-to-probe-into-new-delhi-railway-station-stampede/article69227090.ece |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="TIE"/> No officials have been named responsible for the incident pre-investigation, and the investigation has no deadline for when it is to be completed.<ref name="RCCP"/> The Railway Ministry also announced a [[₹]]1,000,000 compensation to the families of victims, ₹250,000 to those with serious injuries (including 3 people), and ₹100,000 to those with minor injuries (including 12 people).<ref name="Porecha"/><ref name="TIE"/> The [[ex gratia]] payment notably took place before any official statement about casualties had been made by the railway.<ref name="Porecha"/> Lieutenant Governor of Delhi [[Vinai Kumar Saxena]] went to visit some of those injured in the hospital.<ref name="Bhardwaj"/> Opposition leaders in the country criticized the government for not having properly prepared the railways for the festival season, and called for more of the money spent on the advertising the festival to instead go towards safety precautions.<ref name="Kaul"/><ref name="Goel">{{cite web |last1=Goel |first1=Abhinav |last2=Pasha |first2=Dilnawaz |title=Families heartbreak after deadly Delhi railway station crush |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn8x3kjd7zzo |work=[[BBC]] |date=16 February 2025 |access-date=17 February 2025}}</ref> General Secretary of the [[All India Congress Committee]], [[Randeep Surjewala]], called on Union Minister of Railways Vaishnaw to resign from the incident.<ref name="Kaul"/>

== See also ==
{{Portal|India|Railways}}
* [[2025 Prayag Maha Kumbh Mela crowd crush]]
* [[List of fatal crowd crushes]]
* [[2025 in India]]
* [[Crowd collapses and crushes#Crowd "stampedes"]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Human crushes}}
{{Disasters in India in 2025}}
{{Railway accidents and incidents in 2025}}
{{Railway accidents in India}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prayag Maha Kumbh Mela crowd crush, 2025}}
[[Category:2025 disasters in India]]
[[Category:February 2025 in India]]
[[Category:Crowd collapses and crushes in India]]
[[Category:Kumbh Mela]]
[[Category:2020s in New Delhi]]
[[Category:Railway accidents in 2025]]

2025 New Delhi railway station crowd crush - Revision history

Brock211211849 at 07:11, 1 January 2026