Conflicting versions have emerged about the cause of the accident involving the Villupuram-Mayiladuthurai Passenger and a school van that resulted in the death of three students at Semmankuppam on Tuesday.

The van, belonging to Krishnaswamy Vidyanikethan, a private CBSE school, was hit by the train while attempting to pass through the level crossing gate no. 170, a non-interlocked manned gate between Cuddalore and Alappakkam.

According to Southern Railway, preliminary enquiries revealed that the gate was closed when the van arrived. However, the van driver insisted that he be allowed to go through to avoid delay in reaching the school. And he was allowed to pass by gatekeeper Pankaj Sharma in violation of rules. The gatekeeper should not have opened the gate. He has been suspended and the process has been initiated for his dismissal from service. He was arrested on the basis of a First Information Report filed against him for criminal negligence, Southern Railway said.

However, eyewitnesses said the gate remained open even before the train arrived, and the gatekeeper had failed to notice the approaching train. Annadurai, a resident of Semmankuppam, said he heard a loud noise, accompanied by wails, and rushed out. “I looked out across my compound wall and saw the mangled remains of the van on the side of the track. The gate remained open. I tried to rescue the children when I came in contact with an overhead power cable,” he said.

Banumathi, another eyewitness, said the loco pilot honked continuously, and she looked outside and saw the gate open. Hearing the commotion, locals rushed to the site. The accident occurred around 7.24 a.m.

The driver, according to a resident, had been operating the school van for long. “When I spoke to [van driver] Shankar while he was being brought to the Cuddalore Government General Hospital, he said the gate was open as he tried to pass through,” said a bystander at the hospital.

A relative of Vishwesh, the student who was injured in the accident, said only four students were in the van as it started out from Thondamanatham-Semmankuppam. “After passing the level crossing, it picks up more students and returns to pass through the level crossing before reaching the school,” he said.

Heart-rending scenes

Heart-rending scenes unfolded near the the Critical Care Unit of the Cuddalore Government General Hospital where the bodies of Charumathy and Nimalesh were brought for autopsy. Their relatives and classmates were inconsolable. The bodies were handed over to the families after autopsy. Minister for Labour and Skill Development  C.V. Ganesan placed wreaths on the bodies.

Charumathy’s brother Chezhiyan was taken to Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (Jipmer) in Puducherry, where he was declared brought dead. The body was handed over to his family after autopsy.

Villupuram MP D. Ravikumar said that according to his information, the carelessness on the part of the gatekeeper resulted in the accident. “There are around 490 manned level crossings in the Tiruchi Division of Southern Railway. Most of the gatekeepers are from the northern parts of the country. The Railways should consider posting locals as the gatekeepers. It should also relax the norms for construction of bridges and underpasses near the level crossings,” he told the media. He urged the Railways to double the compensation to the families of the victims to ₹10 lakh.

Empower India, a consumer advocacy outfit, urged Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw to take measures to ensure that all railway gates were equipped with the automatic operation system. In a memorandum, A. Sankar, honorary secretary of the Thoothukudi-based outfit, called upon the Railways to implement interlocking signal technology and install sirens at vulnerable level crossings. The memorandum also sought a comprehensive inquiry into the incident to fix responsibility and safety awareness programmes, especially for school children and rural communities.

(With additional reporting by Rajesh B. Nair)