60 dead as train runs into Dussehra crowd
95 injured; hundreds were watching effigies go up in flames when the tragedy struck; Capt orders probe, cancels Israel trip; state mourning today, offices, educational institutions shut
AMRITSAR: Tragedy struck at a Dussehra celebration in Amritsar on Friday when a speeding train ran over a festive crowd that spilled on to the tracks while watching the customary burning of a giant Ravana effigy. At least 60 people were killed and 95 injured in the accident, according to a senior government official.
Hundreds of people had gathered at an open ground near the manned crossing at Jaura Phatak, barely 70 metres from the Amritsar-Jalandhar double railway track where the celebrations were happening at around 7.15pm. Navjot Kaur Sidhu, the wife of Congress minister and Amritsar East legislator Navjot Singh Sidhu, was the chief guest at the event.
The crossing, 3km from Amritsar railway station, was closed for vehicular traffic, but people were spread out from the ground to the areas surrounding the tracks on both sides; many of them standing on the tracks.
The track was not cordoned off by the police or the local administration, eyewitnesses alleged. As the effigy started burning, and firecrackers inside it started going off, many pulled out their phones to capture a video of the scene. The noise of the firecrackers and the crowd seemed to have buried the sound of the train coming from Jalandhar.
As the train thundered across the track, crushing several revellers, the force was such that bodies were flung in all directions. It took some time for onlookers, even those whose view of the effigy was temporarily blocked by the passing train, to realise what happened.
“We didn’t hear the train coming. It had become dark and everyone was watching the effigy when the train suddenly appeared,” said Mintoo, a migrant labourer staying nearby. Most of the victims are feared to be migrant labourers.
Amritsar sub-divisional magistrate (I) Rajesh Sharma said 60 people were killed and at least 95 injured admitted to Amritsar hospital. Raveen Thukral, media advisor to chief minister Amarinder Singh, put the number of dead at 40, adding the toll could rise. The chief medical officer that Amritsar Civil hospital said doctors had treated at least 80 injured. Leaders across the political spectrum put out condolence messages and a state of mourning was declared in Punjab, where all government institutions will be shut on Saturday. The state government also announced ₹5 lakh compensation to the families of the dead, while the Centre announced an addition ₹2 lakh for grieving families.
Capt Amarinder said he was rushing to the spot to supervise rescue and relief operations. “District authorities have been mobilised on war footing,” Singh tweeted.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was extremely saddened by the mishap. “The tragedy is heart-wrenching,” he tweeted. “My deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their loved ones and I pray that the injured recover quickly. Have asked officials to provide immediate assistance that is required.”
Railways minister Piyush Goyal cancelled all his engagements in the US and said he was immediately returning to India.
AMRITSAR: Minutes after the DMU Jalandhar-Amritsar passenger train on Friday crushed over 50 people watching the burning of a Ravana effigy, the loco pilot had immediately informed the station master at the next station about the incident, officials said.
A senior railway official said the loco pilot, after sensing that the train had crushed a number of people on tracks, immediately informed the station master at Amritsar station.
The official said the loco pilot’s version will also be recorded to ascertain the cause of the acci dent. He said the train movement on the Jalandhar-Amritsar sec tion (including Pathankot) was suspended, after the accident. It took about 10-15 seconds for the train to pass and leave behind a heap of crushed and dismem