Bihar train derailment
On June 6, 1981, a train crashed in Bihar, India. It was carrying more than 800 passengers, traveling between Mansi railway station and Saharsa railway station. It derailed and fell into the River Bagmati while it was crossing the bridge over the river.[1]
Casualties
Five days after the accident only 200 out of 800 passengers had been recovered as dead bodies with hundreds more people missing. The missing passengers were thought to have been washed away by the River Bagmati. Total deaths were listed as 500-800.[2] This derailment stands in 4th place in the worst railway accidents by death toll in the world.
Reasons
Many reasons were given for this railway derailment accident. They were:
- Brake failure while trying to avoid hitting a water buffalo[3]
- Cyclone[4]
- Flash floods[5]
Reference
- ↑ Reuters (June 9, 1981). AROUND THE WORLD; Toll From Train Crash Reaches 215 in India. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/09/world/around-the-world-toll-from-train-crash-reaches-215-in-india.html. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
- ↑ Spignesi, Stephen J. (2004). Catastrophe!: the 100 greatest disasters of all time. Citadel Press. p. 182.
- ↑ "Train Wrecks in India". Emergency Disaster Management, Inc. Archived from the original on March 11, 2007.
- ↑ "Iran mourns train blast victims". BBC.
- ↑ "CBSNews.com Timeline - Train Disasters". CBS. Archived from the original on April 26, 2004.