Kadalundi railway accident
The Kadalundi railway accident was the derailment of a train on the bridge over the Kadalundi near Kadalundi in the state of Kerala on June 22, 2001. Part of the train fell into the river. 57 people died. The information on the number of injuries fluctuates, there were more than 230, 117 were admitted to hospitals.
Starting position
The monsoons were particularly severe in 2001 and the amount of precipitation was high. The bridge over the Kadalundi, No. 924, on the Mangalore – Shornur railway line , was 140 years old and was in a poor state of maintenance.
The Mangalore Mail of the Southern Railway was traveling from Mangalore to Chennai (Madras) and had to cross the river of the same name on this bridge at Kadalundi station .
Accident
Due to a broken rail, the locomotive and the first four cars on the train, including the one reserved exclusively for women, derailed when the train crossed the bridge at around 5 p.m. Initial reports said that one of the bridge segments had broken. The locomotive and derailed passenger cars fell into the river. Ten minutes after the accident, heavy monsoon rain set in, making rescue work extremely difficult.
consequences
The rescue operation was carried out by 500 volunteers from the area and local fire brigades , who rescued travelers with their canoes . They were later supported by 50 professional divers from the Indian Navy .
Accident investigation
The official accident investigation ended in controversy. According to the official results of the investigation, the cause of the rail break was said to have been that a pillar of the bridge had given way, causing the superstructure to slip and the track to break when the train was driving over it.
This result was disputed by outside experts because the bridge support at the top of the pillar had broken off, which spoke against the fact that the pillar itself gave way. Rather, this accident picture suggests that there was damage to the bridge support, not to one of the pillars. It is then assumed that the train derailed and caused the old bridge to collapse.
Web links
- NN: Collapse of credibility . In: The Hindu v. July 1, 2001.
- D Jose: 43 killed as Mangalore-Madras Mail plunges into a river in Kerala . from rediff.com v. June 22, 2001.
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 11 ° 7 ′ 42.8 " N , 75 ° 49 ′ 53.4" E