Three killed after being hit by train in Bengal

Kolkata, Sep 29 (PTI) Three people, including a woman and her child, were killed after being hit by a train while crossing the railway tracks in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district, police said on Monday.

The accident took place near Shyamnagar station on Saturday night, following which locals staged a protest blocking the tracks for an hour, blaming the railways for negligence.

According to eyewitnesses, the woman was crossing the tracks when her child slipped from her arms and fell on the tracks on which the Gour Express was approaching. Seeing the situation unfold, a fruit seller on the platform rushed to save them, but all three were hit by the train.

The locals tried to save the seriously injured persons by arranging an ambulance but the level crossing operator did not open the gates to let the emergency vehicle pass, as a result of which the three persons had to be carried by hands to a distance, following which they were boarded to the ambulance and taken to a hospital, where doctors declared them dead, they added.

Locals staged a protest against the frequent and prolonged closure of the level crossing gates and blocked the tracks for an hour, following which police and GRP persuaded them to lift the stir.

The protesters alleged that the prolonged closure of the level crossing gates forces people to take risky shortcuts across the tracks and that, despite repeated complaints to the railway authorities, no action has been taken.

Police assured the demonstrators of a prompt investigation. PTI SUS SCH ACD