Delhi stampede: Families hold photos, launch desperate search for missing loved ones

Hopes turn into despair

Many said the hospitals did not allow them to search for their missing family members among the patients admitted there, turning their hopes into despair.

The stampede at the railway station on Saturday evening killed 18, according to officials. The injured persons were admitted to the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narain Hospital (LNJP) and the Lady Hardinge Medical College and Hospital in Central Delhi.

Also read | Delhi stampede: Two trains named 'Prayagraj' caused the confusion, claim police

Authorities at the hospital are showing the families the lists of the injured admitted there, and turning them away if they don't find the name of their kin.

The families also said they have not been able to file even missing persons' complaint.

‘Wife missing, didn’t have a ticket’

Outside the LNJP hospital, Bhola Sah showed a photo of his wife, Meena, on his mobile phone. She has been untraceable since the stampede.

"She is missing since yesterday evening after she went to the railway station to board a train to Prayagraj to attend the Maha Kumbh. She did not have any ticket. Her four to five companions are also untraceable, and their mobile numbers are not connecting," Sah told PTI.

"Hospital officials told me there are no bodies of the stampede victims as all bodies have been taken away by their relatives," he said.

‘Hospital not letting search for brother’

Moazzam, accompanied by his friends, was enquiring about his missing brother Nadim at the LNJP Hospital.

"He was going back to home in Darbhanga by the Swatantrata Senani Express. I have no clue of him as he carries no mobile phone. His train was scheduled to depart from platform no 13 on Saturday night. I am afraid that something might have happened to him," said Moazzam.

Also read: Delhi LG faces backlash for edited X post on railway station stampede

"Hospital officials told me the bodies were not there and did not let me look for my brother among the injured admitted there," he said, preparing to go to the other hospital in search of his missing brother.

UP man’s desperate search for wife

Clutching his mobile phone, 58-year-old Gupteshwar Yadav shows his wife's picture to media personnel, a sense of despair and desperation writ large on his face.

He wanted any clue from anywhere that would help him find his wife who has been missing since Saturday’s stampede.

"I came to Delhi with my elder brother and wife from Uttar Pradesh. We were waiting at platform number 13 for the Prayagraj train when a sudden announcement informed us it would now depart from platform 14. The chaos that followed left us in a panic," he said.

Yadav recalled holding his wife's (56) hand as they struggled to make their way toward platform 14.

"The first thing we saw was a sea of heads, endless people trying to move towards platform 14. As we got closer, we got pushed from behind. In the commotion, I lost my wife's hand. And since then, I have been searching for her," he said.

‘People screaming for help, no one helped them’

Yadav visited the LNJP Hospital, RML Hospital, and the Lady Hardinge Medical College and Hospital trying to find out if she was there among the injured. But no one provided him any piece of information about his wife.

Also read | Delhi stampede: What led to the tragedy? Witnesses, railways offer differing versions

Yadav's younger brother, Cheteshwar Yadav, claimed that not a single railway official was present to help people during the initial chaos.

"No one stepped forward to assist the injured, who were screaming for help. Instead, many people from nearby platforms pulled out their mobile phones and started recording videos. It was the young passengers at the station who tried to manage the crowd on their own," he added.

Ray of hope for some

For some, the desperate search ended in succour when they finally found their lost relatives.

Archana Suman, a resident of New Delhi, said she found her brother admitted at the LNJP Hospital.

"Yesterday, my brother had gone to catch a train. Shortly after he left, we heard the news of the stampede at the railway station. We got scared and immediately rushed there, but we couldn't find him," she said.

Hours later, she received a call informing her that her brother had been taken to LNJP Hospital. Upon reaching the hospital, she found him injured, with wounds on his legs, she added.

The access to the LNJP hospital was heavily restricted, with only attendants of the patients allow to go inside.

For Anu Kumari, the Saturday night turned into a nightmare when she learned that her sister-in-law, Sneha, might be in trouble.

Sneha, who had come from Uttar Pradesh to visit Anu's family, was at the railway station on way to her home, Kumari said.

"We learnt of the stampede in the middle of the night and rushed to the hospital. When we arrived, we saw that Sneha was lying injured and unconscious."

(With inputs from agencies)