Thursday, 24 July 2014
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20 students killed as train rams bus in Medak
The Hindu The Secunderabad bound passenger train rammed a school bus near Masaipet village in Medak district. - The Hindu People gather near the mangled remains of the school bus that was rammed by a passenger train at an unmanned railway crossing in Telangana's Medak district, killing 20 children and the driver on Thursday. Photo: Marri Ramu
- Relatives wail over the bodies of children killed in the school bus-passenger train smash at an unmanned level crossing in Medak district on Thursday. Photo: Marri Ramu
- The Hindu The accident spot at Masaipet railway station.
- The Hindu Family members of one of the victims crying at the accident spot at Masaipet railway station.
- The Hindu TV grab shows the spot where a school bus carrying 30 children collided with the Nizamabad-Hyderabad train at an unmanned level crossing at Masaipet, in Veldurthi Mandal of Medak district, on Thursday.
- TV grab shows grieving parents at the site where the Nizamabad-Hyderabad train rammed a school bus at an unmanned level crossing near Masaipet village in Medak district of Telangana on Thursday killing more than 20 children.
Twenty students and driver of a school bus were killed and 19 children
injured when a passenger train rammed it into it at unmanned level
crossing near Masaipet village in Medak district, about 40 kms from
Hyderabad on Thursday morning.
Thirteen students of Kakatiya Techno School in Toopran, about five kms
from the school were killed on the spot while the others succumbed to
bleeding injuries at two private hospitals in Kompalli on the outskirts
of Hyderabad. The driver Bhikshpati too died in the accident.
The injured students were first rushed to Balaji and RR hospitals in
Kompally and later shifted to Yashoda hospital in Secunderabad for
better medicare. The Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao rushed to the
hospital to personally monitor the situation.
According to eye witness accounts and police sources,
Nanded-Secunderabad passenger train was approaching Masaipet when the
school driver tried to speed past the unmanned level crossing resulting
in the ghastly accident. The accident occurred at 9.10 am as the train
was running four hours behind schedule. On version said there was a
building which could have obstructed the view of the driver.
It is said students screamed at the driver not to rush through the level
crossing but the latter ignored their pleas. The badly mangled bus was
dragged for a distance of one km before the train came to a halt.
Gory scenes
The scene of the accident presented a gory picture with blood splattered
railway track and the bodies of the children aged five to 12 years
mutilated beyond recognition. Bhikshpati is said to be temporary driver
as the regular one failed to turn up. As he got delayed, the driver is
said to have driven the vehicle in rash manner all through while picking
up students from Gundredpalli, Islampur and Kistapur before it met with
the accident.
Police and rescue teams had a torrid time in removing the debris and the
mutilated bodies from the accident spot. Family members of the victims
rushed to the spot and were seen wailing over the bodies of the
children. A pall of gloom descended on the villages from where the
students hailed.
Villagers hamper relief work
Thousands of villagers rushed to the spot hampering relief work. Police
had a tough time controlling the crowd as they got restive and started
blaming the railway officials of negligence. A group of ABVP workers
staged a demonstration were cane charged leading to stone pelting.
Traffic on NH -44 abutting the accident came to a grinding halt as
residents of nearby villages made a beeline to the spot.
Ministers – T. Harish Rao and Jagadishwar Reddy were directed by the
Chief Minister to rush to the accident spot and supervise the relief
works. Mr. Rao himself is expected to visit Masaipet in the afternoon to
call on the family members of the deceased children.
Probe ordered
In a condolence message, the Chief Minister expressed deep sorrow at the
unfortunate accident. He ordered an inquiry into the incident.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N.Chandrababu Naidu, YSR Congress
president Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy, BJP Telangana President G.Kishan
Reddy, Telangana Legislative Council chairman K.Swamy Goud, condoled the
deaths. Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy and Mr.Kishan Reddy rushed to the spot.
(With additional reporting by Ravi Reddy)
List of victims
The following are the students, who were killed.
The victims are: Bhikshapati Goud, (45), driver, Chintala Suman, Golla
Mahesh, Vidya, Chintala Charan, Chintala Divya, Neerudi Vamshi, Razia,
Waheed, Sarath and Sruthi, Tumma Vishnu and Srividya.
The identity of remaining students, who died at private hospitals in Hyderabad, is yet to be known
