At least 40 people are feared dead after being mowed down by a speeding train in Punjab’s Amritsar. Several others, who got injured, were rushed to nearby hospitals. Authorities fear that the death toll may rise.

The incident occurred on Friday when people went to witness burning of Ravana effigy near Dhobi Ghat area of Amritsar. News agency ANI reported that a train ran into a burning effigy of Ravana.

“We have taken people to hospital and we are evacuating others. We are examining the situation and taking all necessary measures. The exact cause of the mishap is yet to be ascertained,” a senior police official told mediapersons.

They were reportedly mowed down by a local train coming to Amritsar from Jalandhar. Speaking to Zee News, eyewitnesses blamed the administration for not taking adequate precautionary measures.

“The administration and the Dussehra committee are at fault, they should have raised an alarm when the train was approaching, they should have made sure that the train halts or slows down,” eyewitnesses told news agency ANI.

The Ravana effigy was being burnt near the rail track when the incident took place.

Reacting to the incident, Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain said that he had been making attempts to gather all information about the incident, assuring that he would take all necessary action.

“As Dussehra celebration was taking place some incident had occurred and people started rushing towards closed gate number 27 while a DMU train number 74943 was passing the closed gate,” said CPRO, Northern Railway, in a statement.

Source : Zee News India