Mumbai: First anniversary of Elphinstone stampede

Mumbai, Sep 29: Mumbaikars paid tribute to Elphinstone stampede victims on the first anniversary of the incident on Saturday. Twenty-three commuters had died in a stampede on foot-over bridge connecting Parel-Elphinstone Road stations on 29 September 2017. The incident took place between the Parel railway station and Prabhadevi railway station.

A view of the Elphinstone railway station's foot over bridge

A rumour that the pedestrian bridge was collapsing may have caused the 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. PTI file photo

A slipper of an injured commuter

The incident occurred during the morning rush hour at Prabhadevi station, when four trains arrived simultaneously at the station. It was further 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. PTI file photo

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), has been registered at the Dadar Police Station. S. Jaykumar, Additional Commissioner of Police (Central Region), Mumbai also stated that overcrowding was a factorPassengers caught in a stampede at Elphinstone railway station's foot over bridge. PTI file photo

Army built new FOB

Indian Army personnel prepare to install a portion of a foot-over bridge at Elphinstone Road station. In February 2018, a new FOB constructed by India Army was inaugurated. PTI file photo