NEW DELHI, Feb. 17 -- Two more people died from injuries sustained during Saturday night's stampede at the national capital's main railway station when thousands attempted to board trains heading to Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh festival, taking the death toll to 18, officials said.

The tragedy, which unfolded at the station's Ajmeri Gate end, exposed critical failures in crowd management on a night when officials sold 7,600 unreserved tickets in just two hours for trains heading to Prayagraj, where the festival has been one of the top priorities of both the central and state government.

"There was surge in crowd to board the trains heading for Prayagraj for the ongoing Mahakumbh," Indian Railways said in a statement. Most of the crowd w...