Amritsar tragedy 'clear case of trespassing': Railways officials

October 20, 2018 08:48

The gathering of people close to tracks near Amritsar where a train mowed down Dussehra crowd was a "clear case of trespassing" and no permission for the event had been given by the railways, a senior official told PTI.

Seeking to shift the blame for the tragedy on the Amritsar administration, official sources said the local authorities were aware about the Dussehra programme and that it was attended a senior minister's wife.

"We're not kept in the loop and we provided no permission for the event. It is a clear case of trespassing and the local administration should take responsibility," the railway official said.

Amid questions being raised in some quarters about why the train did not stop despite such a large crowd being there, the official said, "There was so much smoke that the driver was unable to see anything and he was also negotiating a curve."

"However, railways' entire machinery is at the spot and we are cooperating with local administration is rescue and relief operations" the official added.

Medical teams have been rushed to the site of the accident in which at least 61 people, including women and children, died and 72 were injured after the train coming from Jalandhar to Amritsar ran over a crowd standing across the tracks to watch the Dussehra celebration. -- PTI

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