Railway report says Mumbai stampede occurred when people mistook a vendor’s shout of 'Phul Padla'

The Railway probe report on Elphinstone road incident revealed that the stampede occurred when some people mistook a vendor’s shout and believed that bridge has collapsed.

The probe report said that the foot overbridge got overcrowded as people tried to save themselves from getting drenched in heavy rains.

It mentioned that more passengers added to already overcrowded rush due to subsequent suburban rail arrival in quick succession during peak rush hour.

The report further stated that a situation aggravated when a vendor's flowers dropped and he shouted 'Phul Padla' (meaning flowers fell down in Marathi).

The report said that tragedy may have triggered by panic after some commuters mistook it as 'Pul Padla' (bridge has fallen).

It was said that report was prepared on the basis of certain video footages and account of 18 eye witnesses.

23 persons died in Elphinstone Road-Parel bridge stampede. Thirty-eight injured persons were admitted in the hospital. The tragedy occurred on Saturday when the overbridge, linking Elphinstone Road and Parel suburban stations, was overcrowded as people took shelter from rain.

The bridge is used by lakhs of people to commute to the commercial area with high-end corporate and media offices.