Two students were killed and four others were injured after their school van was hit by a train at a railway crossing in Tamil Nadu’s Cuddalore district on Tuesday morning. Investigators said the tragedy was triggered by a mechanical failure that allowed the train to pass without the railway gate being closed.
The incident occurred at approximately 7.45 am as the van was ferrying children to Krishnaswamy Vidyaniketan Senior Secondary School in Kumarapuram. Cuddalore Superintendent of Police S Jeyakumar said it was the Villupuram-Mayiladuthurai passenger train that hit the vehicle.
A 16‑year‑old girl and a 12‑year‑old boy were killed in the accident. The injured include the van’s driver, two children—one is in a critical condition—and a local resident, who reportedly suffered a non-fatal electric shock during the chaotic rescue operation.
Local emergency services rushed all the injured to a nearby government hospital in Cuddalore, where they are receiving treatment. The driver remains in a critical but stable condition.
A senior police official said the manually operated gate, Railway Level Crossing Gate No 170 between Cuddalore and Alappakkam, had no signal indicating that a train was approaching, nor was it closed. “We are investigating the role of the guard,” the official said.
Preliminary reports from railway officials indicate that the level crossing gate was not closed on time. Although the crossing was supposed to be manned, investigators are now questioning the signalman assigned to the location to establish whether human error and negligence also contributed to the failure.
