Kasganj level crossing disaster

The Kasganj level crossing disaster was the crash of a passenger bus with an express train near the town of Kasganj in Uttar Pradesh, India on 4 June 2002.

Overview

The accident occurred at around 1.00pm in the tiny village of Chandi, when a local bus, carrying around 60 people between villages, came to a level crossing near Kasganj. The bus driver started to drive his vehicle through the manned crossing barriers, which were open to road traffic, onto the crossing in front of the on coming express train. The train, the regular train on the Kanpur to Kasganj route, had no time to stop, and hit the bus at 70mp/h, slicing the vehicle in two.http://civilaviation.nic.in/ccrs/accidents/Jul%2005/ACCIDENT(vi)%20OF%20Jul%2005.htm] The front half of the bus was thrown into a nearby canal, where it rapidly sank, drowning all those inside not killed in the initial crash. The rear of the bus was dragged along the track by the train, which came to a halt in 246 metres as a result of an emergency brake application.

49 people, all on the bus, died as a result of the accident and another 29 were injured, 7 of them seriously.

Aftermath

The statutory investigation report cited the fact that the manned crossing barriers were open to road traffic and not interlocked to protecting rail signals; it also identified that the train was dispatched in violation of standing instructions.

References

See also

* List of road accidents

External links

* [http://newswww.bbc.net.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2025207.stm BBC News Report]