Tamil Nadu: Three Children Died After Train-School Van Collided In Cuddalore

Three school children were killed and three others sustained serious injuries after their school van collided with a passenger train at a manned railway gate in Tamil Nadu's Cuddalore on Tuesday morning.

The deceased students have been identified as Nimilesh, 12, Charumathi, 16, and Chezhiyan, 15. The death toll could rise, the police said, adding that the driver of the school van Sankar, 47, was among the injured who were rushed to the Cuddalore Government General Hospital.

Casualties and Injured

While two students lost their lives on the spot, four students, including Chezhiyan, sustained injuries and were admitted to the Cuddalore Government Hospital. Chezhiyan was then taken to Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research in Puducherry, where he was declared dead. The van belonged to a private CBSE school.

A local resident, Annadurai 55-years-old, who rushed to the accident site to rescue the children also sustained serious injuries after an overhead power cable snapped and fell on him.

How Did The Incident Occur

The incident occurred around 7:45 AM when the driver attempted to cross the Railway Level Crossing Gate, which was a non-interlocked manned gate between Cuddalore and Alappakkam. Train No. 56813 Villupuram-Mayiladuthurai passenger was seconds away from crossing the spot. The driver did not notice the train rushing towards them and collided perpendicularly with the train.

The van carrying students was flung a distance away from the level crossing after it was hit. The loco pilot managed to stop the train after traversing some distance, police said, reported PTI.

Preliminary inquiries revealed that while the gatekeeper proceeded to close the gate, the van driver insisted on allowing the Van to cross the gate, which should not have been permitted. However, eyewitness accounts said the gatekeeper had dozed off and failed to close the gate.

What Are The Authorities Saying

Superintendent of Police, S Jayakumar, had to rescue the railway gatekeeper who was attacked by the members of the public allegedly for negligence, as reported by PTI.

“Tragically, six students have been injured and admitted to the Cuddalore Government Hospital. A railway relief train with a medical relief van has been dispatched to the site,” a release from the railway said, and added that the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) and branch officers who were at the spot.

“A committee of officers from the safety, operation, and engineering branch is investigating the incident,” also mentioned in the release.