At least 35 people were crushed to death by the Rajya Rani Express in Bihar in the morning of August 19 in India.
The pilgrims were crossing the rail tracks at the station in Dhamara Ghat, a small town in Bihar state, when they were struck by the Rajya Rani Express train, said Dinesh Chandra Yadav, a local member of parliament.
The train was running at 49 miles an hour, said Adhir Chowdhury, minister of state for railways.
P.N. Rai, a railway official in Bihar, said 35 people had died when the train, running at a high speed, hit people on the track.
Arunendra Kumar, a top railway official, said the Express train was not supposed to halt at Dhamara Ghat and had been given clearance to pass through the station. However, some pilgrims waited on the tracks thinking they could stop the train, he said.
The train stopped after the accident and train service has been suspended on the route.
Angry mobs pulled out the train driver and beat him up; set fire to several carriages of the train and were holding railroad employees hostage, according to NDTV. Many railway employees have run away, leaving the station completely unmanned. Railway officials are calling the situation “volatile.”
Yadav said the driver died, but Arunendra Kumar, Railway Board chairman, said the driver was in hospital in a critical condition.
Story developing; check back for updates.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
