Over 50 dead as train mows down crowd in Amritsar
October 19, 2018 10:59 pm
More than 50 people have been killed and 200 hurt after a train ran into a crowd near Amritsar in India’s northern Punjab state, police told the BBC.
The victims were standing on the railway tracks watching celebrations for the Hindu festival of Dussehra, eyewitnesses told BBC Punjabi.
They did not hear the train approach as they watched a firecracker-filled effigy of the demon king Ravana burn.
Officials said the priority now was to take the injured to local hospitals.
Footage posted to social media showed the fast-travelling train hitting the crowd.
The incident happened at about 18:30 local time (13:00 GMT), said local journalist Ravinder Singh Robin.
Just moments before, crowds watching the firecrackers show were asked by organisers to move back - towards the railway tracks, reports say.
The train that hit the crowds was travelling from Jalandhar to Amritsar.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh described the incident as “absolutely tragic”, and wrote in a tweet that local authorities were being “mobilised”.
“We will do everything possible to assist the injured,” he said, adding: “[I] have directed the district administration to leave no stone unturned to ensure the best possible treatment for them.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the incident as “heart-wrenching”.
There are fears that the death toll will rise further.
Train accidents are fairly common in India, where much of the railway equipment is out of date.
-BBC
