Elphinstone Stampede: Three colleagues help the victims at the spot

Just a few feet from the stampede spot, three friends witnessed the entire incident unfold in front of their eyes at Parel station on Friday morning. But instead of fleeing the spot, they jumped in to extend a helping hand to the injured.

"We threw our bags to one side and started helping the injured people and pulling out dead bodies. Knowing some CPR techniques, I started checking their heartbeats. One small boy was accompanying his elder brother. While I checked the small boy, he was already dead. I did not have the courage to tell his brother," said 23-year-old Sagar Jadhav.

The trio travel the same route daily to reach their office. According to them, nearby residents ran to help the victims but commuters at the spot were mainly interested in clicking pictures.

21-year-old Rohit Pawar, said, "Rather than helping the victims, the commuters were more interested in clicking pictures and videos to share them on social media. People have lost sensitivity. It is sad to see how people react in such situations. Due to narrow lanes, the authorities too took time to reach the spot."

Narrating the incident, 21-year-old, Viraj Salvi said, "Due to heavy rainfall people started gathering near the bridge. After few trains left, the crowd started increasing. Somebody shouted 'Short-circuit hua hai' and people started running without seeing that a man has fallen; due to this the stampede occured."

Besides rescuing the victims and helping them reach the hospital, the three office-goer friends also went to KEM Hospital to donate blood.