Bihar train disaster
Encyclopedia
In the Bihar train disaster on June 6, 1981, a passenger train carrying 800 or more passengers between Mansi and Saharsa
, India
derailed and plunged into the river Bagmati
while it was crossing a bridge.
After five days, more than 200 bodies were recovered, with hundreds more missing that were feared washed away by the river. Estimates of total deaths range from 500 to 800 or more.
The cause of the accident is uncertain as there are multiple causes listed online:
Saharsa
Saharsa is a city and a municipality in the Saharsa district in the Indian state of Bihar in north India, east of the Kosi River. It is the administrative headquarters of the Saharsa District, and is in the Kosi Division. Sahrasa is also the name of the Parliamentary constituency, which contains...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
derailed and plunged into the river Bagmati
Bagmati
The Bagmati River is a river of Nepal and India. It flows through the Kathmandu valley and is the river separating Kathmandu from Lalitpur. It is considered a holy river both by Hindus and Buddhists...
while it was crossing a bridge.
After five days, more than 200 bodies were recovered, with hundreds more missing that were feared washed away by the river. Estimates of total deaths range from 500 to 800 or more.
The cause of the accident is uncertain as there are multiple causes listed online:
- a cycloneCycloneIn meteorology, a cyclone is an area of closed, circular fluid motion rotating in the same direction as the Earth. This is usually characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth. Most large-scale...
- flash floodFlash floodA flash flood is a rapid flooding of geomorphic low-lying areas—washes, rivers, dry lakes and basins. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a storm, hurricane, or tropical storm or meltwater from ice or snow flowing over ice sheets or snowfields...
ing - brake failure while trying to avoid hitting a water buffalo