MUMBAI: Thirteen children in India were killed on Thursday when a train hit their school van at an unmanned crossing, the second major accident involving school children in a little over two weeks.
The Police were investigating the cause of the accident in Uttar Pradesh state but authorities said the van driver was responsible for safety at the unmanned crossings.
Eight children and the driver were injured and taken to the hospital, police said. There were 22 children in the vehicle.
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said an inquiry had been ordered and his ministry would pay 200,000 rupees ($3,000) to the families of those killed.
“We are working on it, but it will take time,” he said.
On April 9, at least 24 children and three adults were killed when a school bus plunged off a mountain road in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh.
