Tragedy has struck Mumbai on the eve of the Dussehra 2017 festival on Friday. At least 22 people have died and more than 39 seriously injured as a result of a stampede at the Elphinstone Road railway station. The injured have reportedly been admitted to KEM Hospital in Mumbai. The incident occurred on the foot overbridge connecting the suburban railway stations of Elphinstone Road and Parel when it started raining at around 10:30 p.m. According to reports, there was a short-circuit at the station which led to immense panic amongst the people, ultimately leading to the stampede.
Watch the horrifying scene at the Elphinstone Station here:
Many people took to twitter to express their grief over the incident. Bollywood celebrities including Abhishek Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Anupam Kher, Shekhar Kapur, columnists like Shobhaa De and many more also reacted to the tragedy on Twitter.
Piyush Goyal, India's Railway Minister, upon reaching Mumbai stated that an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh by the state government and an equal amount by the Railway Ministry would be given to the family members of the deceased. He also announced that those who were grievously injured would receive an ex-gratia of Rs 1 lakh while people with minor injuries will recieve an ex-gratia of Rs 50,000.
Stay tuned for more updates.
