The death toll in a stampede at a railway station in the Indian capital New Delhi on Saturday night has reached 18.

There was a stampede during the train ride between the religious tourists who had gathered to board the train to go to the world's largest religious gathering Mahakumbh Mela.

The Kumbh Mela held in the northern city of Prayagraj attracts tens of millions of Hindu devotees every 12 years.

When the crowd was struggling to board the train for the event, which ends on February 26, there was a stampede at the railway station in New Delhi.

I can confirm that 15 people died in the hospital. They have no visible injuries. The death may have been due to hypoxia or some injury, but it will be confirmed only after the post-mortem, said Dr. Deputy Medical Superintendent of Loknayak Hospital in New Delhi. Ritu Saxena told AFP.  11 other people were injured in the

incident. Most of them are in a stable condition and have injuries to their joints. Quoting an official from another hospital in the city, NDTV reported that three more people died in the stampede.

Most of the dead are women and children. "I have been working as a porter since 1981, but I have never seen such a crowd before," the "Times of India" wrote, quoting a porter at the railway station. 

When the platform of the special train left for Prayagraj was suddenly shifted, people started bumping into each other and fell on the escalators and stairs. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav has said that a high-level investigation has been ordered into the cause of the accident. 

According to Vaishnav, more special trains are being operated from New Delhi to remove the crowd of devotees. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that he is saddened by the stampede.