Festive rush, unreserved seats: How stampede broke out at crowded Bandra Terminus

The stampede occurred after scores of passengers heading to their hometowns tried to board a moving Gorakhpur-bound unreserved train at the Bandra Terminus.

In Short

• Stampede at Mumbai's Bandra Terminus injures 10, two critical
• Incident occurred as travellers rushed to board a moving train
• Opposition slams Railway Minister for neglecting Mumbai rail safety

At least 10 people were injured, with two of them in critical condition, after a stampede broke out at Mumbai's heavily-patronised Bandra Terminus on Sunday. According to the police and railway officials, passengers tried to board a moving train amid the rush.

A video of the incident has gone viral on social media which shows chaos at the station as scores of frantic travellers rush to board the Gorakhpur-bound train.

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel and local travellers immediately rushed the injured people to the Bhabha Hospital.

HOW DID THE STAMPEDE HAPPEN?

In view of the upcoming Diwali and Chhath festivals, a surge of travellers heading to their hometowns crowded Bandra Terminus. The incident occurred as several passengers, many of whom were unreserved, hurried to board the train while it was arriving onto the platform.

The incident took place around 2.45 am as passengers rushed to secure seats on the unreserved 22921 Bandra-Gorakhpur Antyodaya Express, which was moving onto platform number 1 from the Bandra Terminus yard.

The train, with 22 coaches, was scheduled to depart at 5.10 am. Officials said that during peak festival seasons, passengers often scramble to grab seats since reservations are unavailable for such trains.

Social media was flooded with videos of the chaotic scene, showing passengers running, shouting, and some appearing injured and bloodied. In one video, a man with visible wounds was seen bleeding, while another injured passenger lay nearby. Disturbingly, people continued to board despite a passenger with a leg injury lying by the compartment door.

OPPOSITION SLAMS RAILWAY MINISTER

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw came under heavy criticism from opposition parties in Maharashtra, who said he was too busy with the bullet train project while passengers in Mumbai were being ignored.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former Maharashtra Minister Aaditya Thackeray questioned the Vaishnaw's ability to manage railway safety.

"Wish the reel minister was a rail minister for once. The incident at Bandra only reflects how incapable the current Railways Minister is. The BJP has made Ashwini Vaishnav ji a Prabhari for BJP Maharashtra for elections, but every week there are some incidents and accidents that occur with the railways. It is such a shame that our country has been forced under such incapable ministers," Aaditya Thackeray posted on X.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut also targetted Vaishnaw and said, "Mumbai city gives maximum revenue to the Union government. Compared to it, we hardly get any facilities here for passenger".

"The railway minister is too involved with the bullet train project and people are left to die because of the poor infrastructure as the railway minister is disconnected with their problems," he claimed.

Taking a jibe at the Railway Minister, Sharad Pawar-led NCP leader Clyde Crasto said, "The stampede at Bandra Terminus is very disturbing... This shows the failure of the Railways Ministry, Ashwini Vaishnaw. Lack of enough trains during the festive season and also a failure of the local administration have led to this mishap."