Railways blames van driver.
Railways blames van driver.
Ten school children were killed and nine others seriously injured on Monday morning when their school van was hit by a speeding train at an unmanned railway crossing in Bhadohi district in Uttar Pradesh.
The driver of the van, Hatim Khan, died on the spot. The school bus belonging to Tender Heart School had around 19 children, all below ten years of age. The vehicle was hit by the Varanasi-Allahabad passenger train at gate number 26 between Katka and Madhosingh railway stations, police said.
A gangman at the crossing said that he repeatedly asked the driver to stop but he had earphones on and did not hear. The injured children have been shifted to BHU hospital in Varanasi for advanced treatment.
District magistrate Prakash Sindhu said that all the children belong to one village. Angry villagers later set on fire the vehicle, which had turned into a mangled heap.
The deceased have been identified as Shubham, 6, Shweta Misra , 7, Arpit ,10, Arvind, 8, Anchal Misra, 8, Aayush, 7, Rinku ,5, Dinanath, 7, Abhishek and Pradyumn. UP CM Akhilesh Yadav has announced a compensation of '2 lakhs each for the families of the deceased. He has also directed the district administration to ensure proper treatment of the injured.
The Railways, which announced a three-member committee to investigate the incident, have blamed the driver of the van. “According to preliminary report, the accident took place because of the carelessness of the van driver. The Gate Mitra posted on duty at this unmanned level crossing tried hard to stop the van from crossing the tracks when the train was approaching. The driver, however, ignored the caution and carelessly drove the vehicle through the level crossing resulting in this tragic incident,” the ministry said in a statement. Mr Suresh Prabhu, Railway Minister, has announced ex-gratia payment of '2 lakh in the case of death.
