Title - Four minor girls killed as local train rams into school bus

Amritsar: Four school girls, including two sisters, were killed and 19 others injured when a speeding mini local train rammed into their school bus at an unmanned railway crossing at Kot Mehtab Singh village near. The mini local train was moving from Beas Railway Station to Goindwal when it rammed into the school bus near Baba Bakala at Kot Mehtab Singh village. Deputy Superintendent of Police Suba Singh said the bus carrying students was crossing the unmanned railway crossing when it was hit by the 'small rail bus', leaving four children dead on the spot.


A rail bus is a single coach train shaped like a bus. The four deceased were identified as Sehajpreet Kaur, her sister Manpreet, Komalpreet and Palakpreet. All four belonged to Bure Nangal village and were students of Class IX and X at Sant Baba Majha Singh Karmjot Model School at Baba Bakala town, officiating Deputy Commissioner Amritsar Priyank Bharti said. Nineteen others injured were admitted to a hospital run by Radha Soami Sect at Beas. Later, three of the injured, stated to be in a critical condition, were shifted to the civil hospital in Amritsar. There were 23 students, all in the age group of 11 to 13 years, in the bus at the time of the mishap.


The DSP said the rail bus was moving at a high speed, which was against the norm. Meanwhile, a Northern Railway spokesperson said the accident occurred due to negligence of the bus driver. According to the students travelling in the bus, driver Sukhdev Singh (60) was talking on his cell phone through ear phones at the time of the accident and could not see the approaching train and collided with it, he said.


Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has expressed his condolence and announced an ex-gratia grant of Rs 1 lakh each to the family member of the deceased.