Elphinstone Stampede: Mother leaves early for work, loses life

The Fernandes family living in Garage Gully, Elphinstone, were looking forward to the next few weeks as they would have celebrated Tereza Fernandes's birthday.

The mother of two, with an eight-month-old son, was among the 27 people who died in Friday's stampede.

Known to be an introvert, workaholic and with a caring nature, Tereza left early for work on Friday. "She normally leaves by 10 am. However, since her office is shifting, she decided to leave early to pack," said Veronica Monteiro, her sister-in-law.

Tereza worked as a personal secretary at Lodestar Universal at Phoenix Mills. She is survived by her husband, seven and eight-month-old children, sister-in-law, mother-in-law and her father.

"She would take a train from Elphinstone and get down at Lower Parel. After reaching the office, she would call my brother to inform about the same. However, when she did not call today till well past 11, my brother called to check. When she did not answer, we went to the hospital," said Veronica.