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The incident took place on Friday evening when at least 300 people were watching the 'Ravana Dahan' at a ground adjacent to the tracks. As the effigy was lit and fireworks went off, a section of the crowd started retreating towards the tracks where a large number of people were already standing to watch the event, officials had said. The train was coming from Jalandhar when the accident occurred at Joda Phatak near Amritsar.
A video of the tragic incident showed that several people were run over by a train when they were watching the burning of an effigy of demon king Ravana, as part of the Dussehra celebrations. All offices and educational institutions will remain closed on Saturday in view of the tragedy. Friday night, Union Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha, along with Punjab BJP chief Shwait Malik, visited the site to take stock of the situation, officials said.
Seven of the 70-odd people injured in a train accident in Amritsar were in critical conditions while many of the deceased were yet to be identified, officials said on Saturday. At least 61 people were killed Friday evening after a crowd of Dussehra revellers that had spilt onto railway tracks while watching the burning of a Ravana effigy was run over by a train near Joda Phatak. "Among the injured, the conditions of seven persons continue to remain critical," an official said. The injured have been admitted to seven hospitals. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday said that the state government is doing the best it can and the entire state cabinet is in the city.
World leaders, including the United Nations chief Antonio Guterres Russia President Vladimir Putin and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, have expressed condolences to the families and friends of over 60 people who died in a train accident in Amritsar.
1. Scene of accident
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Amritsar: Punjab Police personnel at the scene of the accident along railroad tracks in Amritsar on October 20, 2018, after revellers who gathered on the tracks were killed by a moving train on October 19. - A speeding train ran over revellers watching fireworks during a Hindu festival in northern India Friday, killing more than 50 people, with eyewitnesses saying they were given no warning before disaster struck.
2. Volunteers carry a victim's body
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Volunteers carry a victim's body to an ambulance, after a commuter train travelling at high speed ran through a crowd of people on the rail tracks on Friday, on the hospital premises in Amritsar, India, October 20, 2018.
Photo Credits: Reuters
3. People collect body parts from railway track
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People collect body parts from a railway track after a commuter train traveling at high speed ran through a crowd of people on the rail ttravellingFriday, in Amritsar, India, October 20, 2018.
Photo Credits: Reuters
4. Police officials search for body parts
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Police officials search for body parts next to a railway track after a commuter train travelling at high speed ran through a crowd of people on the rail tracks on Friday, in Amritsar, India, October 20, 2018.
Photo Credits: Reuters
5. Injured man
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A man who was injured after a commuter train travelling at high speed ran through a crowd of people on the rail tracks on Friday, sits in a hospital bed in Amritsar, India, October 20, 2018.
Photo Credits: Reuters
6. Women mourn the death of their relatives
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Women mourn the death of their relatives after a commuter train travelling at high speed ran through a crowd of people on the rail tracks on Friday, outside a hospital in Amritsar, India, October 20, 2018.
Photo Credits: Reuters
7. Train travelling at high speed ran through a crowd of people
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A man who was injured after a commuter train travelling at high speed ran through a crowd of people on the rail tracks on Friday, lies on a hospital bed in Amritsar, India, October 20, 2018.
Photo Credits: Reuters
8. Speeding train ran over revellers watching fireworks
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Indian Punjab Police personnel stand guard at the scene of an accident along railroad tracks in Amritsar on October 20, 2018, after revellers who gathered on the tracks were killed by a moving train on October 19. A speeding train ran over revellers watching fireworks during a Hindu festival in northern India Friday, killing more than 50 people, with eyewitnesses saying they were given no warning before disaster struck.
Photo Credits: AFP
9. Victims inside a hospital in Amritsar
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Hospital staff stand next to the bed of a victim, who was injured after a commuter train struck a crowd on rail tracks, inside a hospital in Amritsar, India, October 20, 2018.
Photo Credits: Reuters
10. Hospital staff move a stretcher
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Hospital staff move a stretcher with an injured man after a commuter train struck a crowd on rail tracks in Amritsar, India, October 20, 2018.
Photo Credits: Reuters
11. Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu visits a victim
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Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu visits a victim of a train accident at Jodh Phatak, at Civil Hospital in Amritsar, Saturday, Oct 20, 2018. A speeding train ran over revellers watching fireworks during the Dussehra festival Friday, killing more than 50 people.
Photo Credits: PTI
