Nagpur level crossing disaster

Nagpur level crossing disaster

Location of Maharashtra state in India
Details
Date 3 February 2005
Location Maharashtra
Country India
Statistics
Deaths 55

The Nagpur level crossing disaster was an accident that occurred on 3 February 2005, when a crowded trailer being towed by a tractor was hit by a train near the village of Kanan, 20 km from Nagpur in Maharashtra, India. At least 55 people died, including 10 children.

Overview

The accident happened on an isolated, unmanned level crossing, when a wedding party of 70 people was being transported to the ceremony on a trailer being towed by a tractor. The crossing had no attendant or barriers. The locomotive struck the trailer and stopped just after the crossing, the crumpled trailer still underneath it, and passengers provided what assistance they could until emergency services arrived. 55 people died in the crash or in the days following, and the surviving members of the party were all critically injured. The dead included at least 30 women and 10 children. No train passengers suffered more than minor injuries or shock.

Aftermath

The tragedy was one of a series of multiple-casualty accidents on India's overcrowded and under-maintained railway system, and resulted in demands that Transport Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav resign. The director of the South East Central Railway 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."

Similar accidents in India

See also

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