A railway porter’s quick thinking and courage saved multiple lives during the tragic stampede at New Delhi Railway Station, where 18 people lost their lives. Among those rescued by Mohammad Hashim was a four-year-old girl who was presumed dead, only to regain consciousness moments later.
Hashim, who has worked as a porter at the station for years, was going about his usual tasks when he heard frantic screams. Rushing toward the commotion with his fellow porters, he was met with a devastating sight—people crushed under the weight of the crowd, others unconscious, and families separated in the chaos.
“It was heartbreaking,” Hashim told reporters. “Children were lying on the ground. People were running for their lives.”
Without hesitation, Hashim and his colleagues sprang into action. Using their handcarts, they carried injured passengers to ambulances, hoping to save as many as possible. “We managed to get about 8-9 people to safety,” he recalled.
One moment that still haunts Hashim was rescuing the four-year-old girl. “Her mother was crying, convinced she had lost her. When I pulled the child onto my cart, she wasn’t moving. But minutes later, she started breathing again,” he said. “Her mother broke down in tears of joy.”
Though the railway station has seen massive crowds before, Hashim said he had never witnessed anything like this. “I don’t know what went wrong that day,” he said. “But I do know that we did everything we could to help.”
Porters at the station, often overlooked, became unexpected heroes that day. “We are not doctors or rescue workers,” Hashim said. “But we couldn’t stand by and do nothing.”
As authorities investigate the cause of the deadly stampede, one thing remains clear—without the bravery of porters like Hashim, the toll could have been much higher.
