Eyewitnesses recount gruesome tragedy that sent shockwaves across country
A pall of gloom descended across India as news of horrifying train accident during Dussehra celebrations in Amritsar spread across the country, that claimed 59 lives and left scores injured in just three seconds. Wails and cries filled the air as severed bodies, including of children, were seen splattered in huge numbers at the railway tracks after a train mowed them down. In just three seconds it left behind a heap of crushed and dismembered bodies.
A merry occasion turned all gloomy when as many as 300 Dussehra revellers, watching Ravan Dahan at Joda Phatak, started retreating towards the tracks as the effigy was being lit, and fell victim to the speeding train.
Speaking to IndiaTV, several eye-witnesses echoed similar concern and said that the train was in Shatabdi-like speed, much more than what many other trains travel at, in the area.
"The train was travelling in such a speed that we we didn't have any reaction time. My family members have suffered injuries, and two relatives have died," Nitin Mehra, who suffered injuries on his arm, said.
He said the sound of firecrackers completely engulfed any chances of the train being heard, and it did not even blew horn.
Recounting horror witnessed on Friday evening, another eyewitness said: "People were busy watching Ravan Dahan on screen near the tracks when the train sped and razed off everyone. It is not even worth describing how horrifying it was for us to witness it."
Meanwhile, Railways shrugged off responsibility, and said it was not responsible for the tragedy. It also said that neither the area administration nor the organisers informed it about any Dusshera ceremony at the spot.
A senior Railway Ministry official, however, admitted that the loco-pilots of the Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) Jalandhar-Amritsar Passenger train did not apply emergency brakes.
On Friday, a 700 strong crowd was watching a huge Ravana effigy go up in flames amid exploding crackers when on the Joda Phatak tracks near Dhobi Ghat the Jalandhar-Amritsar DMU passenger train heading to Hoshiarpur from Amritsar came hurtling down around 7 p.m.
Doctors at the Civil Hospital said that the death toll could rise as some of the injured were critical. Many killed were migrants from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
The Punjab government has declared state mourning on Saturday and all offices and educational institutions would remain closed, an official spokesperson said, adding that a probe has been ordered.
Video clips posted on the social media showed some people who had apparently seen the approaching train trying to run away as train came mowing down all on its path.
Here's India TV's Ground Report on Amritsar Train Accident:
