India, Aug. 2 -- A large piece of luggage falling from a passenger who had it on their head triggered the stampede that killed 18 people-including four children and 11 women-at New Delhi railway station in February, railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told Parliament on Friday.

The minister, responding to a written question by Samajwadi Party MP Ramji Lal Suman, said a high-level inquiry committee had identified the falling headload as the primary cause of the tragedy that occurred on February 15.

The stampede happened during the evening rush around 9:15-9:30pm on the staircase connecting platforms 14 and 15, as thousands converged on the station for Bihar-bound trains amid the Maha Kumbh festival on at the time in Prayagraj.

"There was...