Mumbai Railway Station Stampede Leaves at Least 22 Dead

Mumbai, India

A stampede on a railway bridge in India's financial hub of Mumbai killed at least 22 people and injured more than 32 during the morning rush hour Friday.

The toll is likely to rise, an Indian Railways spokesman warned.

Dozens of people had taken shelter on the bridge at the city’s central Elphinstone station during a sudden monsoon downpour.

The cause of the stampede is unclear, although Mumbai police official Gansham Patel said rumors that the bridge might collapse after some chunks of concrete fell on it led people to rush to leave the bridge.

The structure connects the Elphinstone and Parel stations in the west-coast city in India’s south.

It is usually crowded in the morning hours, as it also serves as an exit route for passengers getting off trains at a railway-station nearby.