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Amritsar: India train mows down crowd killing scores - BBC News
Amritsar: India train mows down crowd killing scores
19 October 2018
More than 60 people have been killed and 100 hurt after a train ran into a crowd near Amritsar in India's northern Punjab state, police told the BBC.
The victims were standing on the railway tracks watching celebrations for Dusshera, a Hindu festival marking the triumph of good over evil.
They did not hear the train approach as they watched a firecracker-filled effigy of the demon king Ravana burn.
Children are said to be amongst the dead.
Spectators were watching the effigy burn, and a fireworks display, when many started moving towards the railway tracks a short distance away.
Some reports suggest organisers told people to move away from the firecrackers, while other reports say participants ran towards the track because they were afraid the burning effigy would collapse.
According to eyewitnesses, many on the tracks were busy filming the festivities on their phones, and did not notice the train approaching at high speed.
Police say the noise of the firecrackers and the crowd may have stopped victims from hearing the train.
The train that hit the crowds was travelling from Jalandhar to Amritsar.
Eyewitness Amar Nath told BBC Punjabi that people were "mauled" by the train.
"I removed the bodies from the tracks... my hands were full of blood."
Local resident Amit Kumar told the BBC the celebrations were a regular occurrence: "Every year, people sit on the tracks when festivities take place here".
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh described the incident as "absolutely tragic", and wrote in a tweet that local authorities were being "mobilised".
"We will do everything possible to assist the injured," he said, adding: " have directed the district administration to leave no stone unturned to ensure the best possible treatment for them."
He said that victims would be given medical aid for free.
A state of mourning has been declared - offices and schools in Punjab will be closed on Saturday, Reuters reports.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the incident as "heart-wrenching".
There are fears that the death toll will rise further.
Questions are being raised how the celebration was allowed just a short distance away from the railway tracks.
Effigy-burning is only allowed when different departments, including fire safety officials, grant permission.
The state chief minister has ordered an inquiry to ascertain whether permission was granted - and by whom.
Train accidents are fairly common in India, where much of the railway equipment is out of date, although numbers have declined in recent years.
Further sourced: 2018 Amritsar train accident - Wikipedia
-spectators were sitting on or near the tracks...when a commuter train ran into the crowd.
-In the video footage, the horn can be heard just before the mishap, but some spectators maintained that the horn was not heard due to the loud noise of the fireworks.
-A senior Indian Railways official described the incident as "a clear case of trespassing" and, when asked why the train did not stop or slow as it approached, explained that there was "so much smoke that the driver was unable to see anything and he was also negotiating a curve." The driver did, however, report the accident immediately to the Amritsar Junction station master.
~~~~~
I read this and have to SMH. The title alone made me think how the f*** does a train run over people on tracks, it is not like a road...I feel bad for the loss of life, especially of kids but am amazed at how people are not only on the tracks, allowing their kids on the tracks, but they are trying to blame the railway company for not slowing the train. Still waiting for North American stupidity to catch up to this (one of these days a texter will no doubt walk into traffic be hit and sue), but for now this village rules in the Darwin Awards category, just wow...
Amritsar: India train mows down crowd killing scores
19 October 2018
More than 60 people have been killed and 100 hurt after a train ran into a crowd near Amritsar in India's northern Punjab state, police told the BBC.
The victims were standing on the railway tracks watching celebrations for Dusshera, a Hindu festival marking the triumph of good over evil.
They did not hear the train approach as they watched a firecracker-filled effigy of the demon king Ravana burn.
Children are said to be amongst the dead.
Spectators were watching the effigy burn, and a fireworks display, when many started moving towards the railway tracks a short distance away.
Some reports suggest organisers told people to move away from the firecrackers, while other reports say participants ran towards the track because they were afraid the burning effigy would collapse.
According to eyewitnesses, many on the tracks were busy filming the festivities on their phones, and did not notice the train approaching at high speed.
Police say the noise of the firecrackers and the crowd may have stopped victims from hearing the train.
The train that hit the crowds was travelling from Jalandhar to Amritsar.
Eyewitness Amar Nath told BBC Punjabi that people were "mauled" by the train.
"I removed the bodies from the tracks... my hands were full of blood."
Local resident Amit Kumar told the BBC the celebrations were a regular occurrence: "Every year, people sit on the tracks when festivities take place here".
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh described the incident as "absolutely tragic", and wrote in a tweet that local authorities were being "mobilised".
"We will do everything possible to assist the injured," he said, adding: " have directed the district administration to leave no stone unturned to ensure the best possible treatment for them."
He said that victims would be given medical aid for free.
A state of mourning has been declared - offices and schools in Punjab will be closed on Saturday, Reuters reports.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the incident as "heart-wrenching".
There are fears that the death toll will rise further.
Questions are being raised how the celebration was allowed just a short distance away from the railway tracks.
Effigy-burning is only allowed when different departments, including fire safety officials, grant permission.
The state chief minister has ordered an inquiry to ascertain whether permission was granted - and by whom.
Train accidents are fairly common in India, where much of the railway equipment is out of date, although numbers have declined in recent years.
Further sourced: 2018 Amritsar train accident - Wikipedia
-spectators were sitting on or near the tracks...when a commuter train ran into the crowd.
-In the video footage, the horn can be heard just before the mishap, but some spectators maintained that the horn was not heard due to the loud noise of the fireworks.
-A senior Indian Railways official described the incident as "a clear case of trespassing" and, when asked why the train did not stop or slow as it approached, explained that there was "so much smoke that the driver was unable to see anything and he was also negotiating a curve." The driver did, however, report the accident immediately to the Amritsar Junction station master.
~~~~~
I read this and have to SMH. The title alone made me think how the f*** does a train run over people on tracks, it is not like a road...I feel bad for the loss of life, especially of kids but am amazed at how people are not only on the tracks, allowing their kids on the tracks, but they are trying to blame the railway company for not slowing the train. Still waiting for North American stupidity to catch up to this (one of these days a texter will no doubt walk into traffic be hit and sue), but for now this village rules in the Darwin Awards category, just wow...
