NEW DELHI (AP) — At least 18 people, including 14 women, were killed in a stampede at a railway station in India’s capital of New Delhi, the Press Trust of India news agency reported Sunday.
Many of the victims were Hindu pilgrims who were traveling to the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj in northern India, according to Delhi’s caretaker chief minister, Atishi, who uses only one name.
The stampede happened late Saturday while thousands of people were gathered at the New Delhi railway station waiting to board a train. The incident occurred after some passengers slipped and fell on others while coming down from a footbridge that connects train platforms, authorities said.
Sheela Devi, who was at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narain Hospital in New Delhi to collect her daughter-in-law's body, said an announcement about a change of train platforms created confusion among the passengers that led to the stampede.
“The crowd went out of control and no one could control it,” said Nikhil Kumar, a shopkeeper who witnessed the crowd surge.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he was “distressed by the stampede.”
“My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that the injured have a speedy recovery. The authorities are assisting all those who have been affected by this stampede,” he said on the social platform X.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that an investigation has been ordered to find what led to the stampede.
At least 30 people were killed in a stampede at the six-week festival last month after tens of millions of Hindus gathered to take a dip in sacred river waters.
Passengers jostle with each other to board a train at the New Delhi Railway station, in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Feb.15, 2025. (AP Photo)
Passengers jostle with each other to board a train at the New Delhi Railway station, in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Feb.15, 2025. (AP Photo)
Passengers jostle with each other to board a train at the New Delhi Railway station, in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Feb.15, 2025. (AP Photo)
PARIS (AP) — Actor Gérard Depardieu acknowledged Tuesday that he used crude and heated language around a woman who accuses him of sexual assault and grabbed her hips but denied assaulting her, as he testified for the first time at his landmark trial in Paris.
“I understand perfectly if she’s a bit upset,” he said of the set dresser he worked with on a movie in 2021. He acknowledged that he sometimes has a potty mouth, telling the court: “I am capable of trash talk.” And he admitted that he was wrong to use heated language with the woman when they had an on-set argument about a painting.
“I don’t have to talk like that, get angry like that, voilà," he said in his gruff, deep voice so familiar to global cinemagoers.
The 76-year-old former Oscar nominee has denied sexual assault allegations filed by the 54-year-old set dresser and a 34-year-old assistant. The women allege that he groped them during filming in 2021 of “Les Volets Verts” (“The Green Shutters”). The actor faces up to five years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros ($81,000) if convicted.
Depardieu acknowledged that he did "grab the hips” of the set dresser during their argument on set about whether a painting was good or bad art.
But he said his gesture hadn't been ill-intentioned and argued that she hadn't appeared offended, saying: “She didn’t answer as if I was assaulting her.”
He acknowledged that sometimes his behavior is regarded as boorish.
“I’ve always been told I have a Russian nature, I don’t know if it’s because of the drinking or the vulgarity,” he said.
But he said he's not a predator. “I’m not touching the butts of women,” he said.
Because of Depardieu’s fame and impact on the French movie industry, his trial is seen as an important test of French willingness to confront sexual violence and hold influential men accountable.
Actor Gerard Depardieu, center, returns to the courtroom after a break for his trial for the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021, Tuesday, March 25, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
A plaintiff returns to the courtroom as actor Gerard Depardieu faces his trial for the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021,Tuesday, March 25, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
A plaintiff arrives as actor Gerard Depardieu face his trial for the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021, with his lawyer Jeremie Assous ,Tuesday, March 25, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Actor Gerard Depardieu returns to the courtroom after a break for his trial for the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021, Tuesday, March 25, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Actor Gerard Depardieu, left, arrives at his trial for the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021, with his lawyer Jeremie Assous ,Tuesday, March 25, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Actor Gerard Depardieu, second right,, arrives at his trial for the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021, with his lawyer Jeremie Assous, right,Tuesday, March 25, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
A plaintiff arrives as actor Gerard Depardieu face his trial for the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021, with his lawyer Jeremie Assous ,Tuesday, March 25, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Actor Gerard Depardieu, left, arrives at his trial for the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021, with his lawyer Jeremie Assous ,Tuesday, March 25, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Actor Gerard Depardieu, left, arrives at his trial for the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021, with his lawyer Jeremie Assous ,Tuesday, March 25, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Actor Gerard Depardieu, left, arrives at his trial for the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021, with his lawyer Jeremie Assous ,Tuesday, March 25, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
