Medak: In a horrific incident, 17 children along with the driver were killed on Thursday as a school bus collided with a moving passenger train at an unmanned railway crossing in Medak district in Telangana.
The tragic accident took place on Thursday morning at Masayipet of Veldurthi mandal in Medak. The injured have been admitted to hospitals in Medak and Hyderabad.
The government has announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the dead. After the incident, residents of the area held protests at the accident site. The badly mangled bus was dragged for a distance of 1 km before the train came to a halt.
Speaking on the incident in Lok Sabha, Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda said The that prima facie the fault appears to be that of the bus driver who also died at the spot.
"The visibility at the unmanned railway crossing was clear and roads were also clear. The incident occurred due to the negligence of the driver as the bus did not stop at the signal he was supposed to," Gowda said. Railways have ordered an inquiry into the collision.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao conveyed his condolences to the families of the children who died in the accident and also ordered an enquiry into the incident.
The Southern Railway General Manager in a statement said, "It was an unmanned crossing. This was the first trip of this driver and he was rushing to the school," he said in the statement.
There are about 14,000 unmanned crossings in India which often turn into death traps like this. In fact, converting unmanned railway crossings has been one of the key focuses of this years' Railway Budget.
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