Amritsar tragedy: Train driver explains why he kept driving despite knowing people were crushed

Amritsar, Oct 21: The driver of the train which crushed 59 people to death in Amritsar said on Sunday that he did apply the emergency breaks and honked to disperse the crowd assembled on the track. However, he was unable to prevent the causalities.

"I saw a crowd of people around the track. I immediately applied emergency brakes while continuously blowing the horn. Still some people came under it. The train was about to stop when people started pelting stones, so I started the train for the safety of the passengers," the train driver said.

The Punjab and Railway Police had on Saturday detained the driver of the DMU (diesel multiple unit) at the Ludhiana railway station and questioned him regarding the mishap. The driver in his statement also said that he was given a green signal after which he proceeded on the route.

Railways has already said that no action will be taken against the driver of the train saying that he had managed to slow down the train to around 68 kmph from the speed of 91kmph at which he was assigned to run.

"The incident was not the Railways' fault. There was no lapse on our part and no action against the driver will be initiated," Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha had said on Saturday.

At least 60 people, many of them watching the burning effigies or recording the event on their mobile phones, were run over by the fast-moving train. The train passed the area within seconds.