New Delhi - At least 22 people were killed in a stampede on a pedestrian bridge near a railway station in Mumbai on Friday.
The stampede broke out during the morning rush hour on the bridge connecting two stations used by commuters, Lower Parel and Elphinstone.
Police said the staircase became overcrowded amid surging crowds and people not exiting due to a heavy downpour outside.
"Some witnesses say the stampede was triggered by rumours in the crowd that the bridge had collapsed or people had got electrocuted, others say women slipped off the stairs, setting off panic in the crowd," police officer Sunil Deshmukh said.
"There was chaos all around on the narrow bridge, people jumped over each other and over the railings. Many were seriously injured."
In all, 22 people died, Deshmukh said. Fourteen men and eight women were among the victims.
Thirty-nine people were hospitalized, he added.
Images captured by local residents on their mobile phones showed a crush of bodies on the bridge, with people screaming for help.
"I was there when it started ... the surging crowds suddenly halted on the bridge which seemed to shake. The crowd dragged me with it, I felt so helpless, I couldn't breathe," a Shruti Lokre.
"We were falling on each other, some people stomping over others. After several minutes of panic and struggle, I managed to get out and I saw bodies lying around me."
Footage on television channels showed people lying on the ground, many not moving, with locals attempting to revive them.
Lower Parel is Mumbai's former textile mill district, a working class area dotted with tenement housing. The area was redeveloped in the 1990s and has now become a major commercial hub with office buildings, high-rise apartment blocks, shopping malls and restaurants.
The two stations are among the busiest in Mumbai and no longer have the capacity to handle the hundreds of thousands of daily commuters. The narrow bridge connecting them dates back to the British colonial era.
There have been calls for widening and repairing the bridge, which has to cope with a huge rush of people between the stations.
The tragedy has again put the spotlight on the country's ageing railway infrastructure.
"There were several inspections by railway officials and local politicians following the complaints, but nothing happened. There was a delay in addressing the problem," regional health minister Deepak Sawat said.
Railways Minister Piyush Goyal ordered a high-level investigation into the tragedy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences. Compensation of 500 000 rupees was announced for the relatives of the deceased. - dpa