8 Passengers Crushed by Train at Danapur Station
Patna: Aug. 4, 2008
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Passengers Crushed by Train
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Photo by Anupam Singh |
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In a horrible, gut wrenching incident on Monday, eight people who were trying to cross the track at Danapur Railway Station to catch a passenger train coming on a different platform were killed when the Jansadharan Express that had left Rajendra Nagar Terminal just minutes before, mowed them down scattering human body parts all around the track.
The incident occurred at around 5:35 pm when some passengers waiting on Platform No. 1 to catch the Ara Shuttle rushed towards Platform No. 5 by crossing the tracks after they heard the announcement that the Rajgir Passenger train was leaving before the Ara Shuttle.
As the fate would have it, at that particular moment Jansadharan Express, on its way from Patna to New Delhi moving at around 60 kmph, struck the passengers on the track dragging some of the bodies several feet before it came to a complete stop.
Officials put the number of deaths between 5 and 8 with one battling for his life in critical condition.
The incident caused a riot in the area as hundreds of agitated passengers ransacked railway platforms and offices, destroyed and dumped motorcycles on the track causing disruption in the railway traffic for hours.
Security officials equipped with anti-riot gears arrived at the troubled site and clashed with the agitators in an attempt to control the mob from destroying other railway properties. Several people, including more than a dozen police officials, were hurt in the clash.
Senior railway officials including Divisional Railway Manager B. D. Garg, Railway Protection Force Commander Maheshwar Singh, Railway SP Ravindra Shankaran, and police station in-charge from Danapur, Phulwari, Patna, and Khagaul Police stations also arrived at the accident scene to take stock of the situation.
A number of trains had to be stopped at various stations and after more than 3 hours of damage control, officials allowed the trains to pass.
Railway Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad Yadav, meanwhile, while expressing his grief over the tragic incident, announced Rs. 1 lakh to the families of the victims and jobs in the Indian Railways.
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