[ Updated: October 20, 2018 16:50 IST ]
Mass funeral of victims of rail accident in Amritsar were held on Satrday. Officials said at least 60 bodies have been found and many more injured have been admitted to a government hospital after the accident near the site of Dussehra festivities.
At least 59 people were killed and over 57 injured after a crowd of Dussehra revellers that had spilled onto railway tracks while watching the burning of a Ravana effigy was run over by a train near Joda Phatak area in Amritsar.
The train was coming from Jalandhar when the accident occurred at Joda Phatak near Amritsar, where at least 300 people were watching 'Ravana dahan' at a ground adjacent to the tracks.
According to officials, a section of the crowd started retreating towards the tracks where a large number of people were standing to watch the event as the effigy was lit and the fireworks went off. However, two trains arrived from the opposite direction at the same time giving little time to people to escape.
Soon wails and cries filled the air as severed bodies, including of children, were seen lying at the site.
It was a heart-rending sight as the dismembered body parts laid strewn on the blood-soaked ground, and many were difficult to be identified.
An injured person of train accident undergoes treatment at a hospital in Amritsar. Authorities fear more casualties as rescue operations pace up on Saturday morning.
Relatives of victims of train accident mourn at Mass funeral in Amritsar on Saturday Officials said at least 60 bodies have been found and many more injured have been admitted to a government hospital after the accident near the site of Dussehra festivities.
People shouted slogans against former local MLA and wife of Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, Navjot Kaur Sidhu, who was present as chief guest during the event, alleging she left the venue after the accident.
Navjot Kaur Sidhu, however, said she had left the place before the accident took place and rushed to the hospital the moment she came to know of it. She said the railways should have ensured that trains slow down near that section of the track during Dussehra celebrations.
The incident sent shock waves across the country. There was an outpouring of grief with President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoling the loss of lives.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh ordered an inquiry into the tragic train accident and declared one-day mourning in the state on Saturday. All offices and educational institutions will remain closed in the state today.
All services between Jalandhar and Amritsar remained suspended hours after the incident, while some trains are being diverted and many are stranded near Jalandhar.
Local people gather at the scene of the accident along train tracks in Amritsar, Saturday, October 20, 2018. A speeding train ran over revellers watching fireworks during the Dussehra festival Friday, killing more than 50 people.
Punjab Police personnel at the scene of the accident along train tracks in Amritsar, Saturday, October 20, 2018. A speeding train ran over revellers watching fireworks during the Dussehra festival Friday, killing more than 50 people.
Punjab Police personnel at the scene of the accident along railroad tracks in Amritsar on October 20, 2018, after revellers who gathered on the tracks were killed by a moving train on October 19. - A speeding train ran over revellers watching fireworks during a Hindu festival in northern India Friday, killing more than 50 people, with eyewitnesses saying they were given no warning before disaster struck.
Punjab Police personnel and local people gather at the scene of the accident along train tracks in Amritsar, Saturday, October 20, 2018. A speeding train ran over revellers watching fireworks during the Dussehra festival Friday, killing more than 50 people.
With at least 59 people crushed by a speeding train in Amritsar and over 57 others injured, senior political figures including Punjab Governor V.P. Singh Badnore and Cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, visited the injured in hospitals.
Amritsar: Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh with Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu visit a victim of the train accident at Jodh Phatak, at Civil Hospital in Amritsar, Saturday, Oct 20, 2018. A speeding train ran over revellers watching fireworks during the Dussehra festival yesterday, killing at least 60 people.
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