Loud noise and it was all over in few seconds

MEDAK: Books and lunch boxes of the deceased children, a junk of metal that was once a bus carrying 38 children, a train with dilapidated engine that was supposed to go to Kacheguda, hundreds of fuming people from in and around Medak. This was the scene at the site of the unfortunate accident where a school bus hit the train and was dragged by it for almost a kilometre.

There were parents, uncles, aunts and neighbours who lost their children in the tragic incident. D Bala Mallesh, who was working at the nearby field, is the first witness to the incident.

'Everything was over in a few seconds,' Balamallesh said, narrating the tragic event. 'I heard a loud noise and I ran to the site, where I saw a bus being dragged by the train. However, by the time I reached the site, most of the children have already lost their lives. I tried rescuing a boy who sprang out of the bus due to the intensity of the accident. But by the time I picked him up, it was too late,' he said.

The bus was supposed to pick three more children from Masaipet and head towards Tupran to reach the school.

However, this is not the first time that a railway crossing claimed lives of people in Masaipet. 'Many people were injured before as well, but the railways just seems not to care about it,' said Sreedhar, a post- graduate student. 'The SCR general manager has visited the place a week ago, we have requested him even then,' he said.

Despite the commotion at the scene, there is one question that seems to be haunting all the residents. Why is the crossing unmanned when there are so many schools in nearby areas?

The surprising fact here is that the officials have constructed a well equipped building at the crossing for the gate man, which was supposed to be functioning from December last year. As they were about to install the pole gate, the general manager had a change of mind.

'The general manager visited the site, did a lot of research, enquired everyone and built the building. However, in the end, they decided not to use it,' said Shankarappa, a local.

10 school buses pass the crossing daily

Almost 30 trains go by the crossing every day and close to 10 school buses pass the crossing to pick up children. The residents have also complained about the delay in the ambulance service. However, citizens are hoping that the government acts at least now to avoid further incidents.