60 dead as train ploughs into crowd watching fireworks
A SPEEDING train crashed into a crowd watching fireworks during a religious festival in northern India, killing at least 60 people and injuring dozens more.
The train failed to stop after the accident on the outskirts of Amritsar, a city in Punjab state, said local politician Pratap Singh Bajwa.
Railway police said that the death toll had risen to 60. Another 50 people have been injured and are in hospital. The Press Trust of India news agency said two trains arrived from opposite directions on separate tracks, giving little opportunity for people to escape.
The casualties were caused by one of the trains.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “extremely saddened” by the accident, adding he has “asked officials to provide immediate assistance that is required”.
A witness said the train did not sound its whistle as it sped past the site, where hundreds were watching the burning of an effigy of demon Ravana during the Hindu festival of Dussehra.
As the effigy was lit and the fireworks started, a section of the crowd started retreating towards the railway while observing the event.
“Why did authorities allow the fireworks display so close to the railroad track?” the witness asked. He told the Republic television channel that he lost two brothers.
Another witness said the victims did not realise that a train was coming because the fireworks were too loud.
Navjot Kaur Siddhu, a local Congress party politician who was the chief guest at the religious function, said the celebrations take place in the area every year and railway authorities are alerted to run the trains at slow speeds.
A large number of people live in the area with homes on both sides of the railway, she said.
However, junior railways minister Manoj Sinha said after visiting the accident site that organisers did not alert railway authorities about their plan to hold the event there.
Following the accident, people rushed to the site and shouted at railway officials f or not t aking precautions.
While accidents are relatively common on India’s sprawling rail network, Friday’s was among the deadliest in years.