New Delhi: Fifteen people killed in crush, reports say

At least 15 people have been killed and 10 injured in a crush at New Delhi Railway Station, according to Indian media.

Eyewitnesses told BBC Hindi a “huge crowd” had gathered at the station, from where many people were travelling to and from the Hindu religious festival, the Kumbh Mela.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his thoughts were “with all those who have lost their loved ones” in a post on X.

Authorities said the situation is now under control.

Dr Ritu Saxena, deputy medical superintendent of Lok Nayak Hospital in New Delhi, told news agency AFP she could confirm 15 deaths at her hospital.

Reuters news agency reported that three of the dead were children, while 10 were women.

An eyewitness, Ruby Devi, told BBC Hindi the crowd was so big she couldn’t go inside the station, adding there was a “stampede-like situation”.

Another person said the policemen were doing their job “but the crowd became too much”.

Indian railways had initially dismissed talk of a stampede as a “rumour”, according to Reuters, but confirmed that an undisclosed number of people had been injured and taken to hospital.

The crush comes weeks after dozens were killed in a pre-dawn crush at the Kumbh Mela festival in northern India, where tens of millions of Hindus had gathered to take a dip in sacred river waters on the most auspicious day of a six-week festival.