The Hindu : One killed as train hits van

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 28, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala

One killed as train hits van

By Our Staff Reporter

KOZHIKODE JUNE 27. One man was killed and a boy injured when the Kurla-Thiruvananthapuram Nethravathi Express hit a van at the Punnool level-crossing between Thalassery and Mahe in Kannur district at 8-50 a.m. today.

Police identified the deceased as the van driver, Chandroth Ratheeshan (39), and the injured as Mohammed Fir (11), a student of the Thalassery Sree Narayana English Medium School. Ratheeshan died at the Thalassery Indira Gandhi Cooperative Hospital while Mohammed was undergoing treatment at the same hospital.

The train hit the school van on the tracks because the gates of the level-crossing were left open. The van was on its return trip after dropping the students at the school, police said.

Railway sources said that the gatekeeper, Johnson, and the Thalassery Assistant Station Master, O.V.Ramesh, have been suspended from services following the accident. However, the gatekeeper said he should not be held responsible for the accident as he had not received any official communication from the Thalassery station to close the gates. Even then he attempted to close them after hearing the sound of the approaching train at a distance. The level-crossing did not have an inter-locking system and was not signal-controlled from the station.

Senior railway officials, including the Palakkad Assistant Divisional Railway Manager, Titus Koshy, and the Thalassery Chief Station Master, Gopalakrishnan, visited the accident site.

The Southern Circle Commissioner of Railway Safety, Pranab Kumar Sen, will conduct a statutory inquiry into the accident. Officials said that Mr. Sen would collect evidences from the public at the Kannur railway station on June 30 and July 1. Anyone having knowledge relating to the accident and desiring to give evidence could do so at the station on the specified date or write to the Commissioner of Railway Safety, Southern Circle, No.7, Seshadri Road, Gandhinagar, Bangalore - 560009 or fax to 080-2260650.

Meanwhile, police said that an agitated mob blocked the trains on the Thalassery-Mahe sector for over two hours.

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