Amritsar train mishap: Survivors recall horror, says festive euphoria made people oblivious to train

At least 59 people were killed and several injured after a speeding train went through a crowd gathered for Dussehra celebration.

Image Courtesy: IANS

Most people who were mowed down by a speeding train in Amritsar during Dussehra celebrations Friday evening were migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, an official said on Saturday. The accident has claimed 59 lives so far out of which 39 bodies have been identified by the authorities.

The Dussehra celebration gathering Friday evening had a good number of people who belonged to these two states as the festival is celebrated with great devotion and pomp back in their home towns, he said. "As per initial reports, most of deceased were migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and were working in the industrial area to earn their livelihood," the official said.

Jagunandan, a 40-year-old wage labourer from Hardoi in Uttar Pradesh who suffered injuries in the head and leg, said he was not standing near the tracks but was pushed as people started running away from the main stage after the Ravan effigy was set afire. The father of four was brought to hospital by a relative, who accompanied him to the event. 

A burning effigy of Ravana, firecrackers and festive euphoria made people oblivious to the approaching train and in a matter of seconds, bodies were left strewn on the railway tracks, according to eyewitnesses of the tragic incident here.

"I was watching the burning of effigy of Ravana and suddenly I heard massive sound. After a few seconds, bodies of women, children and men were lying on the railway tracks. The moment was very devastating," Jaspreet, an eyewitness who was at the site, said.

Another local, Gurpreet, said: "We all were busy watching the Dussehra celebrations. Huge voice of firecrackers drowned the sound of the arriving train and we could not understand for a few seconds what had happened."

The train was coming from Jalandhar when the accident occurred at Joda Phatak near Amritsar, where at least 300 people were watching 'Ravana dahan' at a ground adjacent to the tracks. 

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday ordered a magisterial inquiry into the accident after visiting the injured and the kin of those killed in the tragedy.

Suraj Prakash, another eyewitness, said that a few minutes before the Jalamdhar-Amritsar train mowed down several people, another train going to 
Howarh from Amritsar passed through on another track, but it did not hurt anyone.

"How can it be possible that a train which passed through the area a few moments back, did not cause any casualty, but another train killed several innocent people.

"It was the mistake of train driver (Jalandhar to Amritsar). After the train passed, screams of people could be heard from everywhere," he said.

Most people who were mowed down by the speeding train were migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

A senior official in the district administration said most migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar work in an industrial area at a stone's throw away from the accident site and live nearby.

(With PTI Inputs)