India, Feb. 17 -- Umesh Giri, 45, was at Lok Nayak hospital, nursing a fracture on his left foot, but paid his injury no heed - he had just received news that his wife Silam Devi was one of the 18 people killed in the stampede at New Delhi railway station on Saturday night.

The Kirari resident said that he and his wife had just entered the railway station - to catch a train to Prayagraj to attend the Maha Kumbh - when a crowd of people swept them into the stairway leading to platform 14.

"In no time, people fell on the staircase. There was a lot of pressure from people from both sides as people were climbing up and down the staircase. People trampled all over me and my wife. I kept asking for help but people were in a hurry to move," he...