*AMRITSAR, India – A speeding train ran over revellers watching fireworksduring a Hindu festival in northern India Friday, killing more than 60people, with eyewitnesses saying they were given no warning before disasterstruck.*
The crowd had gathered on railway tracks in the city of Amritsar in Punjabstate to watch a fireworks show marking the Dussehra festival when thetrain barrelled down the line at high speed.
“There was a lot of noise as firecrackers were being let off and it appearsthey (victims) were unable to hear the approaching train,” a policeofficial told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“There are more than 50 dead. The priority now is to take the injured tothe hospital,” Amritsar city police commissioner S. S. Srivastava toldreporters.
More than 60 people who were injured were being given emergency treatmentat various hospitals across the city, he added.
TV footage showed crowds gathered around the venue where an effigy of demonking Ravana was set alight, exploding into a huge fireball.
One of the revellers, Mintoo, a migrant labourer who uses one name, toldthe Hindustan Times daily that he had no idea the train was approaching.
“It had become dark and everyone was watching the effigy go up in flameswhen the train suddenly appeared,” he said.
An eyewitness speaking to a local TV channel described scenes of “uttercommotion” when the crowds noticed the train “coming very fast” towardsthem.
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“Everyone was running helter-skelter and suddenly the train crashed intothe crowds of people,” he said.
Another eyewitness said people were busy taking pictures on their mobilephones and “they were not given any warning that they should not stand onthe tracks.”
Many who had climbed on rooftops for a glimpse of the action clapped andcheered as the fireworks exploded.
But the festive scenes soon turned tragic.
“I have lost my child, I want him back,” an inconsolable mother said,wailing and beating her chest.
Some relatives of the deceased blamed the authorities for allowing a “bigfunction” to be held next to the railway track.
An AFP photographer at the scene said some victims had lost limbs in theaccident while others suffered head wounds. – APP/AFP
