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Wednesday, 11 September, 2002, 14:56 GMT 15:56 UK
Indian train crash toll reaches 100
![]() Both sabotage and recent weather have been blamed
Indian officials say rescue workers at the site of Tuesday's train crash in the eastern state of Bihar have recovered at least 100 bodies, a day after a luxury Delhi-bound passenger train derailed on a bridge.
Officials say 550 people were on board the Rajdhani Express when the train, which had started from Calcutta, jumped the tracks while travelling at around 130 km/h (80mph). They say nearly 250 injured are now in various hospitals receiving treatment. Coaches piled on top of each other and at least one was sent plunging 90 metres from a bridge into the River Dhavi as the train crashed near Rafiganj station, about 510 kilometres (315 miles) from Calcutta. Trapped survivors were left screaming for help as rescuers struggled to reach them in the twisted wreckage. Sabotage suspected One passenger, Mohammed Irshad, said: "We were all asleep and suddenly the whole thing went zigzag and everything started to fall on top of me. "It lasted a couple of minutes. When it was over, I realised my wife and children had been crushed to death." His children were two and three years old.
Railways Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said he was convinced the incident was a case of foul play, as iron girders and rails on the bridge had been removed. The chairman of the Indian Railway Board, IISM Rana, agreed after visiting the scene. "Prima facie case, as studied by the railways, is sabotage. It has been done in a planned way," he said without elaborating. However, other officials cautioned that it was too soon to draw conclusions and an inquiry has been launched. Guerrilla stronghold Bihar's remote Gaya district, where the incident took place, is a stronghold of Maoist guerrillas who have been waging an armed campaign for more than two decades, demanding rights for landless labourers and low-caste Indians.
"This does not appear to be a case of sabotage," said Neelmani, the local inspector-general of police operations, according to the Press Trust of India. "The railway authorities have jumped to a conclusion without even caring to verify the ground realities." India's Deputy Prime Minister, Lal Krishna Advani, also told reporters in Delhi that the crash looked to be an accident rather than a deliberate attack. Carriages suspended Recent heavy rains had battered the bridge and swollen the river, where currents were strong, police said. Rescue workers told the BBC's Subir Bhaumik in Calcutta that dozens of bodies were being removed from the massive wreckage and that Hindu funeral rites - including the lighting of cremation fires - had begun. More than 300 survivors have been sent to Delhi and Calcutta in special trains.
The Rajdhani, which links Calcutta with Delhi, is a fully air-conditioned luxury train and has had relatively few accidents. Almost 14,000 trains run through India every day carrying more than 13 million passengers. On average, there are 300 accidents a year. Overcrowding, lack of investment - especially in new technology - and the difficulties of supervising a vast workforce are all cited as chronic underlying problems. |
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10 Sep 02 | South Asia
10 Sep 02 | South Asia
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07 Aug 99 | From Our Own Correspondent
02 May 02 | Country profiles
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