Amritsar train mishap: List of accident caused by trespassing in history of railways

Image Courtesy: Reuters

At least 59 people were killed and several injured on Friday after a speeding train ran through a crowd in Punjab's Amritsar. The accident happened during Dussehra celebrations following which an air of gloom prevailed amongst the people in the state. The schools and offices in the state were shut.

However, this is not the first accident where lives were lost due to trespassing on the tracks. 

Following is a list of other such accidents:

* June 4, 2002: The Kasganj level crossing disaster occurred when a Kanpur-Kasganj Express collided with a passenger bus in Uttar Pradesh, killing 30 and injuring 29 people.

* June 4, 2010: The Coimbatore-Mettupalayam special train collided with a mini-bus at an unmanned level-crossing at Idigarai near Coimbatore, killing 5.

* July 7, 2011: A Mathura-Chhapra Express hit a bus at an unmanned level crossing in Thanagaon of Uttar Pradesh's Kanshiram Nagar district, killing 38 and injuring 30.

* February 26, 2012: The Trivandrum-Kozhikode Jan Shatabdi Express struck people who were standing on the track to watch fireworks, killing 3 and injuring 1.

* March 20, 2012: A train collided with an overloaded taxi minivan at an unmanned railroad crossing in northern Uttar Pradesh, 296 km from Lucknow, killing 15.

* March 26, 2012: A MEMU commuter train collided with a boulder-carrying truck at the Kannamangala gate on the outskirts of Bangalore, killing the pilot and driver.

* July 23, 2014: A Nanded passenger train collided with a school bus at an unmanned level-crossing in Masaipet village of Medak district, killing 18.

* Jan 17, 2017: Two 15-year-old boys wanting to take selfies in front of an approaching train were killed when they were hit by another train running on an adjacent track. This happened near Akshardham station in Delhi.

* April 25, 2018: At least 13 children killed after a train rammed into school van at a railway crossing in UP's Kushinagar.

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh visited hospitals across the state on Saturday where the injured are being treated and said that a magisterial inquiry has been ordered to investigate all aspects of the tragedy.

(With PTI Inputs)