16 people Killed under Ferozepur Sutlej Express
16 people including seven school children were
killed and 16 others injured
when a private minibus
crashed into the Ferozepur Sutlej Express
at a manned railway crossing in
Choorhchak village, some 7
kilometre from Jagraon on Friday morning.
bound speeding
Three of the injured who
were referred to the DMC hospital in Ludhiana are reported
to be in a critical condition.
The accident occurred
around 8.25 a.m. when the train
hit the bus from the rear after
the railway crossing that had
been duly closed for the passage
of the train was opened by the
gateman Kulvinder Singh on a
special request by the bus driver Iqbal Singh.
The bus had nearly 35 passengers on board who were
mainly students and teachers of
a senior secondary school and
college in Lopoke village.
Eyewitnesses including Veerpal, the 11-year-old daughter of
the gateman, who too had boarded the bus but had a miraculous escape said, "My father (the
gateman) opened the gate and
allowed the bus to pass as we
were getting late for school."
The collision was with such
an impact that a majority of the
passengers on the back seats
fell out on the tracks and were
ploughed to death on the spot.
While passengers and eyewitnesses blamed the gateman for
the accident, Sri Sri Prakash,
General Manager, Northern
Railway, who visited the site
blamed both.
"It was a manned level crossing and its gates were closed.
The driver was also at fault as
he could not see the gate because of low visibility due to
heavy fog and crashed the vehicle into the ill-fated Sutlej Express." A case has been registered against both the driver
and the gateman under the
Railway Act.
Posted by Gui Sharma | Views 244 | Share Blog
