A last minute platform change at a train station triggered a stampede in northern India that left thirty-six people dead and another 30 injured Sunday, the Guardian reports.
The horrific scene ensued in Allahabad where thousands of people returning from religious celebrations at the Sangam were waiting to board a train, reports say. When railway officials made some changes to departing trains, the throng of people rushed to get aboard and stomped on dozens who unfortunately fell onto the ground.
Sangam, the point where the Ganges, Yamuna and Saraswati Rivers meet, draws roughly 30 million people for the 55-day Hindu Pitcher Festival. Sunday was one of the holiest days of the festival.
The chaos may have also been caused by police who used batons to control the crowd, witnesses say, adding that the injured didn't receive medical treatment until two-hours after the stampede.
"We heard an announcement that our train is coming on platform number four and when we started moving toward that platform through a footbridge, we were stopped. Then suddenly the police charged us with batons and the stampede started," passenger Shushanto Kumar Sen said.
Police officials denied the allegations.
"It was simply a case of overcrowding. People were in a hurry to go back and there were not enough arrangements by the railway authorities," Senior Police Officer Arun Kumar said.
Medical officials say 23 of the 36 dead are women. Railway officials are investigating what caused the stampede.
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