14 players injured as van hits train

At least 14 volleyball players have been injured when the van carrying them after a village tournament rammed into a Ludhiana-Ferozepur train.

At least 14 volleyball players were injured, four of them seriously, when the van carrying them after a village tournament rammed into a Ludhiana-Ferozepur train on Sunday night at an unmanned railway crossing near Jagraon town in central Punjab

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While the injured were being treated at the government civil hospital in Ludhiana, four of the players who had serious injuries were brought to the Dayanand medical college and hospital for treatment.

Senior Superintendent of Police (Ludhiana Rural) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that the accident took place when the driver of the Tempo Traveller van ignored warning signals near the unmanned crossing near Lande village, 50 km from Ludhiana, and rammed his vehicle into the moving train.

The van was completely destroyed in the accident. Railway officials said that the van driver was drunk when he rammed his vehicle into the last two bogies of train.

The players were returning to their village Ramme after playing in another village.

This is the second major accident within a week involving a train and another vehicle in the Jagraon-Moga districts of Punjab.

Sixteen people, including eight children, had lost their lives when a private mini-bus rammed into the Sutlej Express passenger train running between Ludhiana and Ferozepur Friday morning. This accident occurred at a manned railway crossing after the gateman let the mini-bus pass while the train was approaching the crossing in foggy weather.