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A man mourns his brother at the site where he traveled to a crowd on the outskirts of the city of Amritsar in northern India on Friday. (Raminder Pal Singh / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock)
AMRITSAR, India – A commuter train on a high speed ran through a crowd on the tracks in northern India on Friday, killing at least 59 people, state officials said, making it India's worst rail disaster this year.
Duckshra festival celebrations, when to commute train ran through the crowd.
"We have 59 confirmed dead. The State Police Chief Suresh Arora told Reuters, adding that emergency officials were trying to determine the extent of the disaster in Amritsar in the state of Punjab.
A witness at the scene saw bodies of victims strewn about the tracks, and friends and relatives standing around in shock, many sobbing and appearing distraught.
An officer in the police control room said that the death toll has been difficult because the body parts were scattered around the scene.
ANI, a domestic news agency, reported that the chief medical officer of the civil hospital in Amritsar said 60 people had been killed and at least 51 injured. Reuters could not confirm that death toll.
Police said that it was a "freak accident" and that people had not heard the train approach because of the din of the festivities and fireworks.
During the festival of Dussehra, aflame large effigies of a 10-headed demon from the Hindu epic Ramayana in a ceremony that symbolizes the triumph of good over evil.
In Amritsar, video footage shows that the effigy of the demon Ravana had just been bed and firecrackers were going off when the train plowed into the crowd while they were craning their necks and applauding the show.
ANI reported that a witness at the scene said the train was moving fast.
Amarinder Singh, Punjab's chief minister, said he was rushing to Amritsar to oversee response operations there.
"We have heard that this incident has taken place," Singh told ANI, adding that he did not know why the Dussehra celebrations were being held so close to the railway tracks.
Singh declared a state of mourning and said all offices and educational institutions across the state would remain closed Saturday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was deeply saddened by the incident.
"The tragedy is heart-wrenching," he tweeted. "My deepest condolences to the families of those who have lost their loved ones and I pray that the injured recover quickly. Have asked officials to provide immediate assistance that is required. "
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