Kasganj bus disaster
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The Kasganj bus disaster was the crash of a passenger bus with an express train near the town of Kasganj in Uttar Pradesh, India on 4 June 2002.
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[edit] Overview
The accident occurred at 1.00pm in the tiny village of Chandi, when a local bus, carrying around 60 people between villages, came to a level crossing near Kasganj. The bus driver, for unknown reasons, rammed the barrier and forced it open, before driving in front of the on coming express train. The train, the regular train on the Kanpur to Kasganj route, had no time to stop, and hit the bus at over 60mp/h, slicing the vehicle in two. The first half of the bus was thrown into a nearby canal, where it rapidly sank, drowning all those inside not killed in the initial crash.
30 bodies were subsequently recovered from the wreckage and the canal, including the driver. At least 25 other people required hospitalisation with very serious injuries, as well as a handful of minor injures, mainly from the train which conducted an emergecy stop. All the dead and critically injured had been on board the bus.
[edit] Aftermath
The Indian railway system has an abysmal safety record, with over 300 serious accidents and over 1,000 fatalities a year on average. It is thought the barriers were non-regulation, and that the bus driver either didn't see the train, or thought he could beat it across the tracks.
