Speeding train runs over 37 people in Bihar; angry locals assault driver, set coaches on fire

PATNA: A speeding train ran over pilgrims crossing rail tracks in Bihar early on Monday, killing at least 35 people, according to officials.

PN Rai, a railway official in Bihar, confirmed 37 people had died in the accident at Dhamara Ghat station.

The train, Rajya Rani Express, stopped a few hundred yards beyond the spot where it hit the pilgrims. Angry locals then pulled out the train driver and assaulted him.

MP Dinesh Chandra Yadav said the driver had died, but a top railway official Arunendra Kumar said the driver was in hospital in critical condition.

The mob then got all the passengers out of the train and set some coaches on fire. Groups of young men also smashed the window panes of two other trains that were at the station.

The pilgrims were crossing the tracks when they were hit by the train, Dinesh Yadav said. Several other people were injured in the accident.

Arunendra Kumar said the express train was not supposed to halt at Dhamara Ghat and had been given clearance to pass through the station. However, some pilgrims waited on the tracks thinking they could stop the train, he said.

Monday was the last day of month-long prayer ceremonies at the Katyayani temple near Dhamara Ghat, a popular Hindu pilgrimage site. The pilgrims were returning after offering morning prayers.