In a heart-wrenching tragedy near Semmamkuppam in Tamil Nadu’s Cuddalore district, three schoolchildren were killed and three others injured after a speeding train rammed into their school van at an open railway level crossing on Tuesday morning, July 8. One of the injured students, V Viswesh, who survived with a shoulder injury, said the railway gate was open and unmanned at the time of the accident.
According to Viswesh, the van approached the level crossing at around 7:30am, a routine time for their daily commute. “The gate was open. We thought the train had already passed,” he recounted from his hospital bed at Cuddalore Government General Hospital. Seconds later, a train struck their van from behind. His younger brother was among those killed.
Villagers alleged that the gatekeeper, identified as Pankaj Sharma, was inside his cabin but failed to close the gate or alert vehicles. Viswesh claimed he saw the gatekeeper even after the crash and blamed his negligence for the fatal mishap.
Eyewitnesses said they did not hear any train horn. Some villagers accused the gatekeeper of being intoxicated. “We suspect he had consumed liquor and was asleep,” said S Gunasekaran, a local resident. Others reported that even earlier that morning, the gate remained open when another train passed.
Residents now demand accountability and stricter enforcement of railway safety norms to prevent such disasters.