- Thursday, April 25, 2024
In June 1981, at least 800 people were killed when seven coaches of an overcrowded passenger train were blown off the track and crashed into a river during a severe storm in the eastern state of Bihar.
By: Shubham Ghosh
At least 280 people were reportedly killed while more than 900 got injured after three trains, including two passenger ones, got involved in a deadly crash near Bahanaga Bazar railway station in Balasore district of the eastern Indian state of Odisha on Friday (2). The incident happened when one of the passenger train rammed into the derailed coaches of another. A freight train was also involved in the disaster.
The history of the Indian Railways, which is more than a century-and-a-half old, has witnessed a number of deadly accidents and Friday’s one was the latest to join the list.
Here are 10 of them:
June 1981: At least 800 people were killed when seven coaches of an overcrowded passenger train were blown off the track and crashed into a river during a severe storm in the eastern state of Bihar.
Bihar Train accident on 6 June 1981 is the deadliest train accident of India.
A passenger train running between Mansi and Saharsa derailed and plunged into Bagmati river.
In total, more than 800 people died in the tragedy, with only 250 bodies recovered after 5 days. pic.twitter.com/Vkfao9cfx4
— John Oldman (@PrasunNagar) June 3, 2023
July 1988: An express train feel into a monsoon-swollen river Quilon (now Kollam) in Kerala in southern India, killing more than 100 people.
August 1995: At least 350 lives were lost when a passenger train rammed into a stationary train that had hit a nilgai. This happened around 200 kilometres from Delhi.
August 1999: Two trains collided near the Gaisal station in northern West Bengal, resulting in the deaths of at least 285 people.
October 2005: Several coaches of a passenger train derailed in southern Andhra Pradesh state, killing at least 77 people.
May 2010: A goods train rammed into the derailed coaches of a passenger train headed towards Kolkata from Mumbai in the wee hours, resulting in deaths of at least 148 people.
July 2010: A passenger train rammed into another train from behind at Sainthia railway station in the eastern state of West Bengal, resulting in deaths of at least 66 people.
November 2016: Some 146 people were killed when an express train got derailed in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
January 2017: At least 41 people were killed after several coaches of a passenger train went off the rails in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
October 2018: A passenger train ran through a crowd gathered on the railway tracks for a festival in Amritsar in the northern state of Ounjab, killing at least 59 people. The crowd had gathered on the tracks to watch the Dussehra celebrations.
(With agency inputs)
