Thirteen women killed in railyway stampede in India

At least 13 women were trampled to death and 42 others injured Wednesday in a northern Indian railway station.

The stampede began when two trains arrived around noon on adjacent platforms and a large crowd rushed to change trains at the station in Mughalsarai in Uttar Pradesh, said railway official Mridul Narain.

"It seems a majority of the people were traveling without ticket. When they saw ticket checkers checking tickets they wanted to go back, and this triggered the stampede," said Narain.

Police official Kashmira Singh said the 13 women were elderly and tripped and "people just trampled over them." They were from the neighboring state of Bihar, he said.

Sudama Devi, a woman traveling with her toddler, told local television reporters she was searching for her mother.

"She was with me. When the stampede started I just rolled down the stairs. Someone helped me to stand on my feet and I ran away with my child. When I came back I could not see my mother," she told Sahara Samay news channel.

Mughalsarai is 350 kilometers (217 miles) southeast of Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh.

The women were on their way to the holy city of Varanasi to bathe in the Ganges river during a local festival that is supposed to ensure a long life for one's son.