13 kids killed in UP accident, CM Adityanath visits spot
Gorakhpur : Thirteen children were killed and six critically injured when a train rammed into a school van at an unmanned crossing on Thursday. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited the accident site in Kushinagar.
He also enquired about the treatment being given to the injured at a hospital.
Adityanath later told the media that prima facie the accident appeared to be the fault of the van driver, who apparently was listening to music on his earphones.
“I spoke to the Railway Minister (Piyush Goyal) and have requested him to find a way out to ensure that such unmanned railway crossings be manned,” he said.
He also said that there were questions about the age of the van driver and that a probe has been initiated into the tragedy.
Gorakhpur Divisional Commissioner Anil Kumar has been asked to probe the incident.
An official said that the Chief Minister ordered that school vehicles across the state be checked on whether they were following the guidelines prescribed for such vehicles.
Adityanath announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2-lakh each for the bereaved families of the victims.
Thirteen students of the Divine Public school in Kushinagar were killed on Thursday when the van they were in was hit by the Siwan-Gorakhpur passenger train at the Dudhi Behpurva crossing, 100 km from Gorakhpur.
Published on: April 26, 2018 at 14:11 IST
IANS
