Nagpur level crossing disaster
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The Nagpur level crossing disaster was an accident which occurred on 3 February 2005, when a trailer being towed by a tractor was utterly destroyed by a train in the village of Kanan, 20km from Nagpur in Maharashtra, India. 55 people were killed in the accident.
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[edit] Overview
The disaster occurred on an isolated, unmanned level crossing in a rural area, when a wedding party of 70 people was being transported to the ceremony on a trailer being towed by a tractor. The party crossed some little used rail lines outside the town which did not have an attendant or barriers due to the infrequent service of trains. Unfortuantely, a train did appear, and struck the trailer broadside, despite the driver's frantic efforts to stop his vehicle.
The train stopped just after the crossing, the crumpled trailer still underneath it, and passengers provided what aid they could until emergency services arrived. 55 people had been killed in the crash or died in hospital in the days following, and the remaining survivors were all critically injured in hospital. The dead included at least 30 women and 10 children. Nobody on the train suffered worse than minor injuries or shock, thanks to the engineer's quick reactions in stopping the engine, thus preventing possible derailment.
[edit] Aftermath
The tragedy is one of a string of recent high casualty accidents to hit India's over crowded and under maintained railway service, and brought calls for Transport Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav to resign. In reference to safety measures, the director of the South-Eastern Central Railways commented:
"We had not installed a gate at the rail crossing because very few trains pass this way. But after this tragedy we will consider posting a guard."
