Victims’ belongings tell tale of horror that unfolded on FOB

Mumbai: Just next to the ill fated foot-over-bridge (FOB) at the Elphinstone Road station lies the ticket counter office. Belongings of the victims who were injured or died in Friday’s stampede are stacked in that tiny office, telling a tale of utmost horror that unfolded just hours ago near the spot.

After the stampede took place, onlookers collected the belongings of the victims and handed them over to police, who kept it in the ticket counter office. Hordes of Sacks and bags were stacked against each other in the office. Along with them high-end mobiles and wallets were lying there too. The damaged-torn sandals and shoes showed the struggles of victims for getting out of the mayhem.

“There were number of mobiles and bags that were collected from the victims. We kept receiving hundreds of calls on victims' mobiles from their panicky relatives. They were frantically calling them desperate to know about their condition. But we had to tell them to contact KEM hospital authorities for further details” said a railway official.

The mishap had stunned the railway employees, who were at work on the Elphinstone Road station. “The belongings will be handed over to the police later. We are keeping a close watch on it,” said the official.

The railway authorities had also installed an emergency helpline near the ticket window for the convenience of people.

“We received more than 25 calls on the helpline. Most of them were about making inquiry about the incident. Some of them also asked whether it has affected the railway services,” said the official.