37 dead as train runs over pilgrims in Bihar

At least 37 people died and dozens of others were injured after an express train ran over them at Dhamara halt in Khagaria district in Bihar on Monday around 9 am.

The death toll could rise as many of the victims are critical, railway sources said. No ambulance or police rescue team could reach the accident site directly, because the nearest road is almost six km away from the accident site, said senior state government officials.

The victims are mostly pilgrims, who had just alighted from a local train and were on the way to a local temple in Saharsa district to offer prayers. According to officials, many of the pilgrims got down on the adjacent track, through which the Raj Rani Express whizzed past at 80 km an hour. According to railway sources, the express train was not scheduled to stop at the Dhamara halt and had a green signal. However, people thought they could stop the train and did not move. The driver applied emergency brakes as soon as he saw people on the tracks but it was too late by then, said railway officials. The railway ministry has ordered an internal enquiry into the incident.

The incident triggered an angry protest by local residents, who set coaches of the express and the local train afire. They also pulled out the driver of the express train and beat him up. The railway sources said he was being treated at a hospital. The mob also vandalised the station and chased away policemen and officials who tried to reach to the accident site.

The state government is now sending additional forces to the area, but their movement is hampered as several places leading to the area are submerged under flood water.

According to unconfirmed reports, the state government has also asked the Indian Air Force to lend choppers to airlift the injured. The railways has also dispatched relief and rescue trains from Barauni and Saharsa, but could not reach the spot due to angry protests.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has expressed grief over the incident and announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the family of each of the deceased and free medical treatment to the injured.

Kumar told reporters that he spoke to Railways Minister Mallikarjun Kharge and urged him to provide maximum compensation to the victims, treating this as a “rarest of rare” incident. He ruled out any lapse by the state government.