Police officers are conducting an investigation on the site of a school van-train collision in Semmanguppam in Cuddalore 8 July 2025. Photo Credit: PTI
There have been contradictory versions on the cause of the accident concerning the passenger Villupuram-Mayiladuthurai and the school van, which led to the death of three students in Semmankoudpam in Cuddalore on Tuesday (July 8, 2025).
The car belonging to Krishnaswamy Vidyanyanikethan, a private school of CBSE, was hit by a train while trying to walk through the level of the crossbar No. 170, an unstoppable gate with a crew between Cuddalore and Alappakkam.
According to Southern Railway, preliminary questions revealed that the gate was closed when the van arrived. However, the van driver insisted that he was allowed to pass to avoid the delay in achieving the school. And he was allowed to go through the guard Pankaj Sharma in violation of the rules. Gatekeeper should not open the gate. It was suspended and the process was launched for its release from service. He was arrested on the basis of the first information report submitted against him because of criminal negligence, Southern Railway said.
Eyewitnesses, however, said that the gate remained open before the train arrived, and the porter did not notice the approaching train. Annadurai, the inhabitants of Semmanuppam, said he heard a loud noise, accompanied by lamentation and set out out. “I looked through my folded wall and saw me on the side of the track on the side of the track.
Banumathi, another eyewitness, said the locomot pilot was chasing continuously, and she looked out and saw the gate open. The locals heard the stir and rushed to the web. The accident occurred around 7.24 hours
The driver, according to the resident, operated the school delivery for a long time. “When I talked to (Van Driver) Shankar when he was brought to the Cuddalore General Hospital, he said the gate was open when he tried to walk,” passers -by said in the hospital.
A relative Vishwesha, a student who was injured in the accident, said there were only four students in the van when it started from Thondamanatham-SemmanupPam. “After passing through the level, he raises more students and returns to pass through the level before he arrives at school,” he said.
The scenes of the heart
Scenes with a heart plant developed near a critical care unit at the Cuddalore Government General Hospital, where the bodies of Charumatha and Nimalesh were brought to the autopsy. Their relatives and classmates were unbearable. The bodies were handed over to families after the autopsy. The Minister for the Development of Work and Skills CV Ganesan placed wreaths on the body.
Charumaty’s brother Chezhiyan was transported to the Jawaharal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research in Puduchherry, where dead was declared. The body was handed over to its family after the autopsy.
Villupuram deputy D. Ravikumar said that according to his information, negligence resulted in an accident by the guard. “In Tiruchi Division of Southern Railway, there are around 490 crew crossings. He called for railways to double the compensation of the victims of 10 lakh victims.
Empower India, an outfit for consumers’ defense, called on Ashwini Vaishnaw Minister to take measures to ensure that all railway gates were equipped with an automatic operating system. In Memorand, A. Sankar, an honorary secretary of clothing based in thoothuku, urged railways to implement the signal technology and install sirens at a vulnerable level. The memorandum was also looking for a comprehensive investigation of the incident to determine the programs of liability and security, especially for school children and rural communities.
(With another report of Rajesh B. Nair)
Published – 8 July 2025 20:36
