25 students among 26 killed as train hits school bus in Telangana

TNN, Hyderabad :
25 students died and several others suffered severe injuries when a school bus was hit by Nanded Passenger train at an unmanned railway level crossing in Masaipet village of Medak district on Thursday morning.
All the students belong to Kakatiya Techno School in Toopran. The mishap occurred at 9.10am on Thursday morning when the school bus was crossing an unmanned level crossing at Masaipet village.
When the accident occurred, there were 40 students from Islampur and Zakeerpalli villages in the bus and the incident occurred while the students were going to school.
Villagers allege that there was no one at the railway gate and this resulted in the accident.
Railway authorities, for reasons best known to them had left the gate works unfinished at the level crossing. Villagers alleged that they had brought to the notice of railway officials, the need for a railway gate to avoid accidents. They alleged that several accidents had occurred at the spot in the past.
The impact of the collision was so severe that the train dragged the bus for about a kilometre.
Villagers blame railway authorities for the mishap, but grieving parents found fault with the bus driver for overspeeding and negligence while crossing the railway track.
Eyewitnesses said the bus driver did not notice the incoming train, leading to the gory accident. “It all happened in no time. Even before we realised what had happened, it was all over. Pieces of flesh and blood were strewn all around. The bus was mangled beyond recognition. It was a very sad sight,” a teacher, who was present at the accident spot, told mediapersons.
A mother, who lost her child in the terrible tragedy, said the bus left her house only 10 minutes earlier. “It was the last goodbye by my child,” she said amidst tears while recalling the “tata” (waving of hand as a gesture of goodbye) of her son.
Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, Andhra Pradesh’s chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu and YSRCP leader YS Jaganmohan Reddy expressed shock over the incident. A probe has been ordered. Union railway minister Sadananda Gowda too expressed grief over the loss of lives.
South Central Railway CPRO, K Samba Siva Rao, said that 26 people including 25 students and the bus driver were reported dead in the accident and the death toll might increase as several more students suffered injuries.
“Immediately after the incident, we dispatched relief vehicles from Secunderabad and Hyderabad. All our senior officials have reached the place and our general manager is also going there to personally supervise the relief work,” the CPRO said.
The injured students were rushed to various hospitals in Toopran town.