MUMBAI - A stampede broke out on a crowded pedestrian bridge connecting two railway stations in Mumbai during rush hour on Friday, killing at least 22 people and injuring another 27, officials said.

Police were investigating what caused the stampede on the bridge's raised staircase, causing some commuters to leap over the railing. Others were crushed or fell underfoot and were trampled.

One rescuer told Indian broadcaster NDTV that the stampede left dozens trapped in the narrow passage, forcing rescuers to break the railing to pull people out.

The stampede was triggered by falling concrete that hit the bridge railing, leading people in the crowd to surge forward to escape because they thought the bridge would collapse, Mumbai police official Gansham Patel said.

Television footages showed people lying on the ground, some unconscious and people trying to revive them with water and first aid.

Locals said more than 400 people were present at the bridge at the time of the stampede.

Anita Kamble, a 37-year-old who lives near the railway station, said she was alerted by a loud noise.

"Women were screaming all around. We couldn't figure out anything as the bridge and the streets were overflowing with people," she said.

"It was a horrific sight. We saw injured people being carried away by police."

Authorities attributed the rush on the footbridge to the morning rains.

"There were rains during morning which resulted in the unusual rush at the narrow footbridge," a police official said.

People had been crowding under the canopy covering the bridge to escape heavy rains, making the deadly tragedy worse, said lawmaker Shaina Nana Chudasama of the governing Bhartiya Janata Party. Commuters also often complain about street-sellers hawking their wares on the narrow overpass.

The pedestrian bridge connected two local Mumbai railway stations - Elphinstone and Parel. The two train stations are used by most of the commuters in Mumbai as the areas are close to many office buildings.

As Mumbai police appealed to citizens to donate blood to help the injured, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences to the families of those killed.

"Prayers with those who are injured," Modi tweeted.

India's sprawling railways is the world's third largest network, ferrying around 23 million people each day. Official figures said about 3,400 people died in last year either from falling off the trains or while crossing the tracks of what is the world's most overcrowded suburban rail network.

AP - Xinhua - AFP

(China Daily 09/30/2017 page12)