IN CUDDALORE, A TRAGEDY ON THE TRACKS

On the morning of July 8, a train rammed into a van at a non-interlocked manned level crossing in Cuddalore district.

- 

While eyewitnesses blame the gatekeeper for alleged criminal negligence, Southern Railway says that the fault lies with the driver, according to its preliminary enquiries. S. Prasad reports on the tragedy, which points to the dangers of the continued use of non-interlocked manned level crossings

Charumathy, 16 and Chezhiyan, 15, usually sat together in the school van. On the morning of July 8, as was routine, the siblings climbed into the van together, clutching their bags and water bottles. Their 55-year-old father, Dravidamani, stood in front of their house in Chinnakattusagai village and waved at them, says their aunt, S. Rani, 42.

The bright yellow vehicle belonged to the private school where the two of them had studied since lower kindergarten Krishnaswamy Vidyanikethan, located at S. Kumarapuram, in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu.

Cuddalore train accident: Gate was open when the school van crossed the track

A few minutes later, at 7:45 a.m., as the van ferrying the siblings and two other children V. Nimalesh, 12, and V. Viswesh, 16 tried to edge past a gated level crossing at Semmankuppam village, a passenger train barrelled into it. Charumathy and Nimalesh died on the spot, while Chezhiyan died by the time he was wheeled into the emergency and trauma care ward of the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research in Puducherry, 44 kilometres from the site. V. Viswesh and the van driver, S. Sankar, 47, were rushed to the Cuddalore General Hospital. Doctors say their condition is stable.

The collision