Nagpur level crossing disaster

{{Infobox public transit accident

| name = Nagpur level crossing disaster

| image = India Maharashtra locator map.svg

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| caption = Location of Maharashtra state in India

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| date = 3 February 2005

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| location = Maharashtra

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| country = India

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| deaths = 58

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The Nagpur level crossing disaster was an accident that occurred on 3 February 2005, when a crowded trailer being towed by a tractor was hit by a train near the village of Kanan, 20 km from Nagpur in Maharashtra, India, causing 58 fatalities.{{cite web|url=http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/uploads/directorate/safety/downloads/appen-ENG-0405.PDF|title=Train accidents on Indian Railways since 1960-61

|publisher=Indian Railways}}{{cite web|title=52 killed as train hits tractor-trolley near Nagpur|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/newswire/story/52-killed-as-train-hits-tractor-trolley-near-nagpur/277593|date=3 February 2005|website=outlookindia.com|accessdate=23 September 2017}}

Overview

The accident happened on an isolated, unmanned level crossing, when a wedding party of 70 people was being transported to the ceremony on a trailer being towed by a tractor.{{cite web|title=55 dead in train mishap near Nagpur|url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2005/feb/03train.htm|date=4 February 2005|website=rediff.com|accessdate=23 September 2017}} The crossing had no attendant or barriers. The locomotive struck the trailer and stopped just after the crossing, the crumpled trailer still underneath it, and passengers provided what assistance they could until emergency services arrived. 58 people died in the crash or in the days following, and the surviving members of the party were all critically injured. The dead included at least 30 women and 18 children. No train passengers suffered more than minor injuries or shock.

Aftermath

The tragedy was one of a series of multiple-casualty accidents on India's overcrowded and undermaintained railway system, and resulted in demands that Transport Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav resign. The director of the South East Central Railway commented that no gate was installed at the rail crossing due to the low frequency of trains on the route, while assuring that it would look into the matter.{{cite news|title=India train crash deaths reach 55|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4233159.stm|date=4 February 2005|accessdate=23 September 2017|publisher=BBC News}}