Uttar Pradesh: At least 14 people including 13 children and an adult were killed in an accident in Uttar Pradesh’s Kushinagar after a train hit a school van at a railway crossing Thursday.
The school van was carrying 18 children, all students of Divine Public School. At least 11 children were killed on the spot after their school van was hit by the Siwan-Gorakhpur passenger train at around 7.10 am today.
One more child was later reported to be killed. The driver of the school van involved in the accident also died, taking the death toll up to 13.
The railway crossing where the accident took place is said to have been unmanned. The gate mitra deployed there, Arvind Bharati, had tried to stop the accident, but failed.
Anand Kumar, additional director general of police, said the school van driver had earphones on when the accident took place. He said the death toll may go up.
Ambulances were rushed to the spot after the accident, and the injured were taken to Pandrauna hospital.
The railway crossing, located between Tankuhi and Duedhi station, is 90-100 km away from Gorakhpur.
In a statement, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, who is on his way to the accident spot, expressed his “deepest condolences”. He has directed the commissioner of Gorakhpur to conduct an enquiry on the cause of the accident.
The CMO has declared an ex gratia payment of Rs 2 lakh to the families of the victims.
