An injured person being treated at a hospital after Amritsar train tragedy
Railway officials said that they had not granted any permission for the Dussehra event that claimed lives of as many as 61 people in Amritsar on Friday, adding that the gathering of people close to tracks when the train mowed down revellers was a "clear case of trespassing."
The official told PTI nor the Railway was not kept in loop, and neither did they provide any permission for the event.
It is a clear case of trespassing and the local administration should take responsibility, the railway official said.
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Responding to questions raised on why did the train not stop despite such a large crowd at the site, the official said the driver was unable to see anything as there was a lot of smoke, and that he was also negotiating a curve.
"However, railways' entire machinery is at the spot and we are cooperating with local administration is rescue and relief operations" the official added.
Medical teams have been rushed to the site of the accident in which at least 61 people, including women and children, died and 72 were injured after the train coming from Jalandhar to Amritsar ran over a crowd standing across the tracks to watch the Dussehra celebration.
MoS Manoj Sinha, Chairman Railway Board Ashwani Lohani and top officials took off from Delhi tonight. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, who is in the US, is returning back home.
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"As per initial information, people present near the railway track couldn't hear the sound of the approaching train due bursting crackers," Sinha told reporters in Delhi before boarding an Indian Air Force plane for Amritsar.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved Rs 2 lakh for the family of the dead and Rs 50,000 for the injured.
Railways has also issued helpline numbers — 0183-2223171, 0183-2564485.
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Railway officials also said they were unlikely to compensate the family of the dead as they were not passengers. "Any information on the dead and injured has to come from the district magistrate, not us. We are cooperating with them at all levels," the senior official said.
The accidents comes days after five people died and around 35 injured after five coaches and the engine of the New Farakka Express (Train No. 14003) derailed near Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh on October 12.
