We were worried when only her belongings were found: family

Devika Naidu, a 20-year-old B.Sc (IT) student at Lalalapat Rai, recalls feeling suffocated as the crowd continued to pass over her to get out of the bridge. Naidu left home at around 9.30 a.m. for college.

She had climbed only five steps when she saw a girl stumble and fall; soon, the chaos led to a stampede.

"When the girl fell, people kept walking over her. When some people tried to pick her, some more fell," she said. "My hand was stuck under three to four people, besides people going over me."

An hour later her family got a call saying that her bag and mobile, along with her college ID card, had been found but that Naidu was missing.

"When we went, we did not find her. But midway we got a call that she had been found by our neighbour. She was crying and scared after looking at dead bodies being pulled out," said Divya Naidu, her sister who left her exams mid-way to look for her. The family eventually met Devika at around 1.30 pm.