A school bus driver’s callousness led to a tragic accident in which 13 schoolchildren were killed while five others suffered critical injuries when a Tata magic vehicle in which they were heading to school was hit by a train at an unmanned railway crossing near Duddhi railway station in Kushinagar on Thursday around 6.45 am.
local villagers blamed the Railways for the tragedy claiming that Siwan-Gorakhpur passenger train (number 55075), which hit the van with the vehicle flinging several hundred feet away, was running late and the Gate Mitra was not present at the duty point.
However, Railway officials claimed that Gate Mitra Arvind Bharti was deputed at the unmanned crossing to alert people and vehicles if a train passes through.
They blamed the van driver for the accident claiming that the driver was listening to the music via earphones and was unmindful of the approaching train.
The Gate Mitra told police, “As the van driver approached the crossing, I alarmed him but he ignored. As the train was closing in, I rushed towards the van, frantically gesturing with hands asking the driver to look to his right as the train approached. With the earphones on, he could not even hear the train’s whistle. I could only watch in shock as the engine rammed into the van, flung it away several hundred feet as children shriek in fear and pain.”
Senior police and district administration officials rushed to the spot to ensure rescue and treatment of the survivors.
The victims, including vehicle driver who also suffered injuries, were later rushed to different hospitals where eleven children were declared brought dead. Two children died at a hospital during treatment later. Doctors referred five injured children and the van driver to BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur.
The deceased were identified as Kamran (10), Kardhan (9), Atiullah (10), Anas (10), Meraj (9), Hariom (8), Muskan (9), Sajida (10), Tamanna (8), Ravi (10), Tunnu (9), Ragini (8), Arshad (10) of neighbouring villages.
On being informed about the tragedy, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath flew off to Kushinagar and visited the site. After being briefed by officials, Yogi conveyed his condolences to the victims’ families and announced ex- gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the families. A similar amount was announced as compensation to the deceased’ families by the Indian Railways.
As per reports, 21 children from different villages left in a school van to reach Divine Mission School to attend classes on Thursday morning around 6.30 am.
PRO, Varanasi Division of NE Railway said the track was later cleared for train movement and a team of senior Railway officials visited the site to investigate the case.