Uttar Pradesh: At least 13 school students were killed after the vehicle they were travelling in collided with a passenger train at an unmanned crossing.
The incident took place today early morning in Uttar Pradesh’s Kushinagar.
All students are said to be from Divine Public School. There were at least 25 people, including children in the van, most of whom were children below the age of 10 years, the official said.
The children were killed on the spot when Thawe-Kapatanganj passenger train (55075) crashed into the van at an unmanned crossing gate at Behpurva, said Ved Prakash, spokesperson for Railways. The train was on way to Gorakhpur from Siwan.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is rushing to the spot. He has declared ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the affected families and also directed an inquiry into cause of accident.
‘The CM expressed deepest condolences on this very unfortunate incident and directed district administration to provide all help and medical aid,’ said the statement released from the CM’s office.
Meanwhile, Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has also ordered an inquiry into the accident. ‘I have asked senior officials to conduct an inquiry into the incident. Railways will provide an ex-gratia amount of Rs 2 lakh each to families of the deceased,’ the Railway Minister announced in a tweet.
Earlier this month, more than 25 school children had lost their lives after a school bus ferrying them back home plunged into a deep gorge near village Gurchal on the Nurpur-Chamba highway in Himachal Pradesh, about 100 km from the district headquarters at Dharamsala.
The bus was carrying 40-45 people and most of those killed were students of elementary classes, aged below ten. School bus driver, 67-year-old Madan Lal, and two women teachers also died in the accident.