Five persons were killed when their car was hit by a speeding train at an unmanned rail crossing hereon Saturday evening, bringing back memories of a similar mishap at a nearby place last year in which eight school children were killed and 14 injured.

Saturday's accident took place at an unmanned crossing between Madhosingh and Ahimanpur railway stations when the ill-fated car was hit by the Allahabad-Howrah Vibhuti express train, Gyanpur station master Ashok Kumar Verma said. 

According to Madhosingh Government Railway Police in charge Manoj Kumar, all the five persons in the car were killed on the spot. The identity of the victims was not immediately known, he added. In July last year, eight children were killed and 14 injured when a school bus was hit by a train at an unmanned railway crossing here because of alleged negligence of the driver who ignored warnings.

The minibus, carrying students of six villages in the age group of six to 14 years, was hit by the Varanasi-Allahabad passenger train between Katka and Madhosingh stations. The minibus of Tender Hearts English School in Ghosia was thrown up in the air because of the impact of the crash and landed in an agriculture field before bursting into flames.

A "Gate Mitra" or gate counsellor was available at the time of the accident but the driver ignored his warning which resulted in the incident. According to the "Gate Mitra", he tried to show a red flag to the driver to warn him about the approaching train. The police said the driver, who had earphones on, did not pay heed to the warning. The railways have deployed over 4,000 "Gate Mitras" at unmanned level crossings identified as vulnerable to strengthen passenger safety and prevent accidents. There are a total of 4,188 Gate Mitras deployed across the country.

Source: Timesofoman