Elphinstone stampede: Western Railway probe blames false rumours of bridge collapse

The Chief Public Relation Officers (CPRO) of Western Railway, Ravinder Bhakar, on 11 October said that after the enquiry, it has been established that the stampede, which took place at Mumbai's Elphinstone railway station's foot-over bridge, occurred due to false rumours of a bridge collapse.

"As per the statement of the eye witnesses, it can be said that incident occurred due to rumours of bridge collapse. There was heavy rains and people were gathering at the station and the crowd from the incoming trains was huge. As soon as this rumour was spread, it caused a stampede," Bhakar said, while addressing the media.

Reportedly, the details of the incident were submitted to the Western Railway General Manger, Anil Kumar, after the statement of 30 injured commuters was taken by the panel, headed by the Western Railway chief security officer.

The panel has now come up with few recommendations for the passengers, preventing them from carrying heavy luggage during peak hours.

Apart from this, the panel has also decided to restrict the movements of vendors carrying heavy loads during peak hours.

23 people were killed and 31 were injured in the horrific stampede. 

-ANI