Stampede death toll rises to 16

The death toll in a stampede at a railroad station after a huge political rally in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh rose to 16 today when two more people died in hospital, police said.

Thousands of people crowded the main railway station in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh state, in a rush to board trains after the rally ended yesterday.

Eyewitnesses said an old man fell and as some people were helping him get back to his feet, many in the crowd surged forward, tripping over those below.

Railroad workers and police had accounted for 16 bodies, a police official said.

“It was simply a case of overcrowding,” said Arun Kumar, the deputy inspector-general of police in Uttar Pradesh.

But doctors said the death toll was expected to rise, as 19 people were critically ill in hospital.