Twelve killed as train rams into vehicle in Hisar
The driver of the Tata Magic vehicle could not see the approaching train due to low visibility, while passing through the unmanned railway crossing, said the police.
Twelve persons were killed and three suffered injuries when their vehicle was hit by Dhuri-Sirsa passenger train at an unmanned railway crossing in Haryana's Hisar district on Sunday.
According to the police, the accident took place around 9.15 am at the unmanned railway crossing near Sarsod village in Barwala sub-division, around 30 kilometres from the district headquarters in Hisar.
The driver of the Tata Magic vehicle could not see the approaching train due to low visibility, while passing through the unmanned railway crossing, said the police.
The train was on its way from Dhuri to Sirsa via Hisar.
"The 12 casualties include five women and four children. The driver of the vehicle also lost his life. Three other injured passengers have been admitted to Hisar Civil Hospital," DSP, Barwala, Rajbir Singh said.
The vehicle was dragged for nearly 210 metres after the collision by the speeding train, claiming six lives on the spot. Locals reached the spot immediately after the accident and helped the administration rescue the injured passengers.
Six people succumbed to the injuries while they were being taken to the hospital.
Those killed in the accident have been identified as Bajrang (31), Kavita (26), Pritam (2), Deepak (4), Pooja (26), Nandini (2), Keshav, Anita, Sunita, Sanjive (3), Kiran and another unknown person. The three injured passengers are identified as Anil, Nitin and Navneet.
The accident victims hailed from Balak village and were on their way to Panghal village to meet a seer.
In December 2014, five children were killed when a van was hit by a train in Mau, Uttar Pradesh at an unmanned railway crossing. Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had said that the Mau accident took place owing to negligent driving and the government was trying to find ways to prevent such accidents.
As the enormity of the tragedy unfolded, the minister told the Lok Sabha that there were 11,000 unmanned railway crossings in the country.
"Improvement of Rail safety is the Number One priority of the Indian Railways. Will take all measures to ensure that there is a substantive and marked increase in railway safety during our time in Government," he had tweeted.