In Bihar on June 6, 1981, a passenger train carrying more than 800 passengers[1] between Mansi (Dhamara Pul) and Saharsa, India derailed and plunged into the river Bagmati while it was crossing a bridge.
After five days, more than 200 bodies were recovered, with hundreds more missing that were feared washed away by the river.[1][2] Estimates of total deaths range from 500 to 800 or more.[1] By the afternoon of June 12, the government had completed its recovery efforts and had issued an official death toll of 235 passengers (including the bodies of 3 passengers which had not been recovered), with 88 survivors.[3]
The accident is among the deadliest-ever rail accidents on record.
The cause of the accident is uncertain as the accident was not well documented. There are multiple theories:
- a cyclone [4]
- flash flooding [5]
- brake failure while trying to avoid hitting a cow [6]
See also
- Lists of rail accidents
References
- ^ a b c Spignesi, Stephen J. (2004). Catastrophe!: the 100 greatest disasters of all time. Citadel Press. p. 182.
- ^ REUTERS (June 9, 1981). "AROUND THE WORLD; Toll From Train Crash Reaches 215 in India". New York Times. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
- ^ "Diving Operations to Extricate Dead Bodies Completed - Samastipur Rail Disaster" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 12 June 1981. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
- ^ BBC, Iran mourns train blast victims See sidebar at bottom of page
- ^ CBS Archived 2005-09-12 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Emergency Disaster Management, Inc., Train Wrecks in India Archived 2007-03-11 at the Wayback Machine
External links