Amritsar train tragedy: Applied emergency brakes but wasn’t able to prevent casualties, says driver

NEW DELHI: The driver of the DMU train, which was involved in the tragic accident in Amritsar, said on Sunday that he did apply the emergency breaks and honked to disperse the crowd assembled on the track. However, he was unable to prevent the causalities, reported news agency ANI.
On Friday, around 59 Dusshera revellers were mowed down by a train as they had gathered on the tracks to witness the burning of Ravana's effigy in Amritsar.

Today, Arvind Kumar, the driver, in a letter, narrated the sequence of the events which led to the accident.


"The moment the train reached Km No. - 503/11, train number 13006 DN crossed it. Suddenly, I saw a huge crowd of people on the tracks. I honked and immediately applied the emergency brakes. Despite applying the emergency brakes several number of people were mowed down by the train," he wrote.

In the letter, the driver added that as the train was about to stop the mob started pelting stones on the train.

"Keeping in mind the security of the passengers on board the train, I did not stop the train and stopped only after reaching the ASR station," he said.

"I immediately passed the information to relevant officers," he added.