PM Khan extends condolences on India's train disaster

Published October 20, 2018
Prime Minister Imran Khan. — Photo courtesy: PM Khan's Instagram account
Prime Minister Imran Khan. — Photo courtesy: PM Khan's Instagram account

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday expressed his grief on a train crash in Amritsar, India, that killed about 60 people.

"Saddened to learn of the tragic train accident in Amritsar India," PM Khan tweeted. "Condolences go to the families of the deceased."

On Friday, a train rammed into a group of revellers who had gathered on railway tracks in the city of Amritsar in India's Punjab state to watch a fireworks show marking the Dussehra festival. It was the latest major accident on the country’s crumbling rail network.

Indian people gather at the scene of an accident along railroad tracks in Amritsar on October 20, 2018, after revellers who gathered on the tracks were killed by a moving train on October 19. — AFP
Indian people gather at the scene of an accident along railroad tracks in Amritsar on October 20, 2018, after revellers who gathered on the tracks were killed by a moving train on October 19. — AFP

Police said victims did not hear the Jalandhar-Amritsar express arriving because the noise was drowned out by firecrackers.

The disaster has led to renewed demands for safety reforms to India's accident-plagued railway system, which records thousands of deaths each year.

India’s railway network is the world’s fourth largest and remains the main form of travel in the vast country, but it is poorly funded and deadly accidents often occur.

The country is home to hundreds of railway crossings that are unmanned and particularly accident prone, with people often ignoring oncoming train warnings.

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