2 dead as Duronto train derails. Here’re 5 other train mishaps that shook India in the past decade

Image courtesy: twitter.com

Man never legislates, but destinies and accidents, happening in all sorts of ways, legislate in all sorts of ways, said Plato.

Man is a creature gifted with reason and logic. He uses these in the best of ways and the worst of ways. But there are times when he is completely and forcefully disarmed of these without prior intimation, and one of these moments is of disasters that strike human beings. Man is still struggling to find why this happens to him and on what justice?

While these questions blaze on, yet again in another train mishap that took place Saturday, two people were killed and eight others got injured. Reportedly, nine coaches of the Mumbai-bound Duronto Express derailed near Kalburgi in Karnataka today.

Image courtesy: twitter.com
Image courtesy: twitter.com

While we lament the recent disaster, here are 5 other train accidents that shook the country in the past decade.

 1. Howrah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express (2002)

Called the Rafiganj train disaster, the Rajdhani express derailed on the Dhave River near the town of Rafiganj near Gaya in North-Central India, on 10 September 2002. Leaving at least 130 people dead, the reason of the accident was attributed to Maoist attack.

Image courtesy: www.panoramio.com
Image courtesy: www.panoramio.com

It is still doubted that more than 50 bodies went missing. The Naxalites, having never done this before, did not take credit for the tragedy and there are other guesses about the fish plates getting damaged or being stolen. The accident was one of the worst the country faced.

 2. Repalle Secunderabad delta passenger (2005)

On 29th October in 2005, it was barely a few minutes after the passenger train had left the Ramannapet station in Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh, that the train derailed due to heavy floods. No less than 102 passengers were declared dead, doubting the fate of at least 50 more, whose bodies could not be found.

Image courtesy: www. indiarailinfo.com
Image courtesy: www. indiarailinfo.com

The then minister of state, shocked at the magnitude of the mishap, assured a job in the railways to the kin of all those who died in the accident and paid compensation for the same.

3. Mandovi Express (2005)

The first 5 coaches of the train were crushed by a rockfall, killing 100 people with it. More than 500 were injured. The accident occurred in a tunnel in Ratnagiri in November 2005.

4. Jnaneswari Express (2010)

The train derailed at West Midnapur district in West Bengal and the oncoming goods train from the opposite side crushed the loose coaches killing 141 passengers. The Naxalites took responsibility for removing 46 centimeters of railway track at the spot. Later, about 26 bodies were added to the already existing casualty.

Image courtesy: www.youtube.com
Image courtesy: www.youtube.com

5. The Kalka Mail (2011)

The Kalka Mail from New Delhi to Howrah derailed at Fatehpur district in Uttar Pradesh on 10 July, 2011, on a Sunday. The accident killed 70 and left more than 300 injured. Railway authorities claimed that the accident happened due to over speeding.

Image courtesy: www.facenfacts.com
Image courtesy: www.facenfacts.com

These shocking train accidents have caused the tragic demise of many of our fellowmen. The reasons being different every time, there is not a common enemy we are fighting in these cases.

Whether due to bomb attacks or derailment or fire, a reasonable world is lost to those who are lost in this quagmire of trauma and death. As human beings continue to explore the meaning of these occurrences, train accidents come as a major threat to safety for people in India.

Also read:

7 things we just love about an Indian train journey

16 ‘dhaasu’ characters you’ll definitely encounter if you take the Mumbai local

10 Types of characters you meet in the Bangalore Metro