New Delhi: Two persons died and more than a dozen injured in a stampede at Santragachi rail station in West Bengal’s Howrah. The incident took place around 8 pm at Santragachi rail station, about 4 km from Howrah. The stampede was triggered by announcement of two trains arriving simultaneously at the station.

“Two persons have died and several have been injured. The state government would give Rs 5 lakh to the families of the dead. We would conduct an inquiry into the incident,” said chief minister Mamata Banerjee. She also announced compensation of Rs 1 lakh to the injured.

Local Trinamool Congress MLA Jatu Lahiri said 2 children are among the injured. The chief minister said the foot overbridge was too narrow to handle the pressure of the passengers. “Railways is the main lifeline of the nation. Lifeline of the nation should not be derailed. Railways must take proper care for passengers. I can’t blame railways. Let them investigate. If there is a rush, they must clear the rush,” Banerjee said.

“The injured were rushed to the railway’s Howrah General Hospital,” said Sanjay Ghosh, spokesperson of South Eastern Railway of which Santragachi is a part.

He also said that the station has old infrastructure that is being modernised. “On behalf of the state government we have told the railways that footbridges connecting the platforms should be widened as the number of passengers have gone up in the station,” alleged Lahiri.

Incidentally, in September, a 50-year-old woman out for Durga Puja shopping, was killed when a concrete slab fell on her from a foot overbridge in the southern fringes of Kolkata.

“We would cooperate with the railways in sorting out coordination troubles, if there are any,” added the chief minister.