|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Indian Railways
Indian trains: Overcrowded and overused BBC Online 9 die in station bomb blast 22 Jun 99
Seven days . . . . . . web focus on rail safety and accidents in the last week |
||||
India: Gaisal train collision - 100s feared dead: Monday, August 02, 1999As many as five hundred people are feared to have been killed in a collision between two trains in the Indian
The collision occurred at around 01:30 (local time) and is thought to have been due to a signal failure. The accident, at Gaisal station involved the Brahmputra Mail train from Gauhati and the Awadh-Assam Express from New Delhi. The express was standing in the station when the mail train approached on the same line. Seven coaches of the first train and five of the second were destroyed. An "urgent" investigation has been started to try to determine the cause. Estimates of the the number of dead have varied widely. One report issued at 09:00 (GMT) stated that 148 bodies had been recovered. However, such is the scale of the disaster, rescuers have been unable to reach a number of carriages buried beneath the wreckage. Gaisal is in a very remote location near New Jalpaiguri (the site of a terrorist bomb attack at a station in June), 500 km (315 miles) north of Calcutta. The remoteness of the area has hampered rescue efforts. The nearest latge city is 14 miles by road. The limited medical facilities in the area are being stretched by the number of casualties being brought in. Earlier reports suggested that there had been an explosion or bomb blast. Initially this was being blamed on separatist forces from the adjacent Assam district. A spokesperson for Indian Railways however refuted this saying "It is not an explosion or a bomb blast. It is a collision of two trains". It was however confirmed that the mail train was carring military supplies.
Comment on this item... |
|
This file last updated: Saturday, 04-Sep-1999 08:55:39 EDT