An express train ploughed into pilgrims near a crowded station in Bihar this morning killing at least 35 people, mostly women and children, and triggering mayhem in the state's Khagaria district, around 160 km from Patna. After the incident, a violent mob reportedly assaulted the train driver, set coaches on fire and held railway staff hostage. Eyewitnesses said the station was vandalised and damaged as bodies lay on the track. As the situation spiraled out of control, many railway personnel reportedly ran away and left the station completely unmanned, say officials. Train services have been suspended on the route.
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| Ghamara Ghat Accident |
Those killed were mostly kanwarias or devotees of Lord Shiva, who were crossing the tracks near a station in Katyani Sthan, a religious stopover. They had reportedly exited another train, when the Saharsa Patna Rajyarani train, on its way to Patna, crushed them. The Khagaria MP, Dinesh Chandra Yadav, said 35 people were killed and nearly as many injured.
"The train was running at 80 km/hour," Minister of State for Railways, Adhir Chowdhury said to media. An angry crowd reportedly threw stones at the train, which stopped at a distance, pulled out the driver and beat him. The mob also took some railway staff hostage and set the train on fire, along with the other train.
Railway officials say the situation is volatile. Rescue workers, district and police officials took hours to reach the spot, considered to be a remote part of the district.
