LUCKNOW: Close to a dozen children had a narrow escape on Monday morning when their
school van
got stuck on
railway tracks
. They were safely rescued, thanks to the alertness of the loco pilot of the
train
which stopped barely 50 metres from them.
Following the incident, railways began a campaign against trespassing and violation of level crossing rules.
The incident occurred near Akbarpur-Tanda railway crossing around 7am.
The packed van headed to a private school had trespassed the restricted section of the railway tracks. From the other side, a goods train was approaching in normal speed. As the driver tried to move the van, its tyres got trapped between the tracks on the unpaved road.
The loco pilot saw the situation from 100 meters away and started honking repeatedly. However, when the van did not move, he applied emergency brakes. The train stopped just 50 meters before the van.
Watching the approaching train, the schoolchildren started crying loudly. One student even tried to get out but failed to open the door. Luckily, all were safe.
After the train stopped, the loco pilot and wagon supervisor came down and counselled the van driver for 10 minutes. They told him about this unmanned level crossing and alerted the control room. About 15 minutes later, the railway protection force (RPF) reached the spot.
Northern Railway DRM for Lucknow Sanjay Tripathi said, "The van driver will be prosecuted for trespassing. There was no level crossing and he came on tracks illegally. I have ordered all stations and halts to run a campaign against trespassing and not violate level crossing rules."
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