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A crowd gathering at the site of the train accident. PA Images

At least 50 dead after train strikes crowd in India

A similar number have been rushed to hospital.

LAST UPDATE | 19 Oct 2018

AT LEAST 50 people have died after a train struck people gathered to watch a Hindu festival in India’s northern Amritsar city, police said.

The train hit a crowd standing on the railway line to watch a fireworks show during Dussehra celebrations, police and eyewitnesses said.

“There was a lot of noise as firecrackers were being let off and it appears they were unable to hear the approaching train,” a police official at the scene told AFP.

An eyewitness told a local TV channel there was “utter commotion” when the crowds noticed the train “coming very fast” towards them.

“Everyone was running helter-skelter and suddenly another train crashed into the crowds of people,” he said.

“There are more than 50 casualties. The priority now is to take the injured to the hospital,” Amritsar city police commissioner S S Srivastava told reporters.

India is home to hundreds of railway crossings that are unmanned and particularly accident prone, with motorists often ignoring oncoming train warnings.

Nearly 15,000 people die on the country’s railways every year, according to a 2012 government report.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has ordered an inquiry into the latest disaster.

“The tragedy is heart-wrenching,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on Twitter.

My deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their loved ones and I pray that the injured recover quickly.

© – AFP, 2018

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    Mute Chris
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    Aug 1st 2023, 3:20 PM

    Some of my antisocial neighbours (well, their kids to be honest) who live in council houses had their homes retrofitted last year on my street. Meanwhile, on a medium income I can’t afford the scheme, even after the grant, still 5-8 k to be paid. I can afford maybe 1.5 k maximum. In other countries you can pay in installments or depending of your income, you won’t pay a dime. Yes, in other EU countries but it seems in Ireland you won’t pay a dime only if you are a scourge to society.

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    Mute Fiona Wyse
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    Aug 1st 2023, 3:25 PM

    @Chris: And that’s why I refuse to buy into this farce. Our tax is paying for theirs and we can’t even afford it ourselves!

    278
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    Mute calum Tierney
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    Aug 1st 2023, 3:54 PM

    @Chris: Top Work Eamon – super achiever – 35%, Rural renovation grant less than 5% – you are so worth every penny we spend on you. Just to point out – you announced a plan for 1200 homes at Dublin port – but a few years earlier you produced a map of Dublin showing that area underwater due to rising seas now you want to biuld houses there, pull the other one. You’re an intellectual colossus.

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    Mute Laura H
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    Aug 1st 2023, 7:38 PM

    @Chris: I wish it were only 5-8k..I have a standard semi-d, was talking to a guy from SEAI about the whole retrofit – doors, windows, external insulation, heat pump…17-20k..

    26
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    Mute Paddy C
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    Aug 1st 2023, 11:31 PM

    @Chris: they’re a role model to me now,the incentive to work and buy a home is quickly deminishing waste of time paying a mortgage and under pressure saving to make it greener may aswel be hammering a concrete wall with a rubber hammer, at nothing

    10
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    Mute IMHO
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    Aug 2nd 2023, 1:04 AM

    @Chris: Absolutely spot on. All the new corporation houses have to meet a GradeA classification ; so the benefits brigade get to reap all the comforts and financial benefits of an eco -friendly home whilst contributing nothing. Were things the other way round, all our lefty politicians would be screaming discrimination .

    20
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    Mute Washpenrebel
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    Aug 1st 2023, 3:18 PM

    We have the most expensive electricity in the EU. If he really wanted to reduce carbon emissions then electricity must have cheaper electricity. If its cheaper to burn oil or gas then people will not switch to air to water. This guy is asleep at the wheel and really should be removed from his position. If you can’t do the job get out of the chair. People are gonna die of the cold this winter if it doesn’t radically change.

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    Mute Washpenrebel
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    Aug 1st 2023, 3:20 PM

    @Washpenrebel: 15cent per kW in Spain 45cent per kW in Ireland…

    232
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    Mute Mark Conlan
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    Aug 1st 2023, 3:13 PM

    I fear I will only be able to afford to retrofit my window box the longer this farce continues.

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    Mute patrick kelly
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    Aug 1st 2023, 3:38 PM

    Another government policy fails.. What a surprise!

    165
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    Mute TheGood Feign
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    Aug 1st 2023, 4:15 PM

    I’ve had first hand experience of this, I’m speaking of personal experience, was getting rénovations and decided may as well get the retrofit. The grants. Every SEAI certified fitter quoted me 6-8k more than the non-certified who would fit the same stuff. Where’s the grant going but to just pad the pockets of those certified if it can be done for almost the exact same amount less without the grant! The govt taken for fools here. Taxpayers cheated. Joke of a system.

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    Mute Laura H
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    Aug 1st 2023, 10:10 PM

    @TheGood Feign: But what about all the grants included – are you telling me that I’ll be able to get my new doors, windows, external insulation and heat pump for 17-20k?..somehow I don’t think so so I’m not going down the route of doing it bit by bit, will do it all in when I can, the grants amount to approx 30k so only option for me – they could improve on the contractors, totally agree they’re being played with them plus the SEAI should also offer loans in order to do the retrofits at a low interest rate to homeowners in order to carry out the works.

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    Mute The ghost of Ireland's past
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    Aug 1st 2023, 4:33 PM

    We have the most expensive electricity in the world. Triple what Ukraine’s closest EU neighbours pay. Our government owns 97% of electric Ireland, Irish people are being spectacularly fooled and don’t seem to care. It’s fascinating for other countries to watch, the fighting Irish, haha sure. Greed is the new Ireland, the greediest country on earth

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    Mute john dennehy
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    Aug 1st 2023, 4:02 PM

    Their great at announcing policies for a bit of PR, but very bad at implementing any of them, all fur coat and no knickers as Leo once said.

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    Mute kkjLtYn1
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    Aug 1st 2023, 3:27 PM

    Shocking delay. We need to set up a public enquiry and convene a citizens forum to get to the bottom of this….

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    Mute Jp Cleary
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    Aug 1st 2023, 3:45 PM

    Far from satisfactory…… is that the new ‘ unacceptable ‘……

    89
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    Mute Chris O'Brien
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    Aug 1st 2023, 5:17 PM

    And handout to the rich.

    And the terms are ODIOUS.

    This isn’t helping the majority. Instead it’s helping rich homeowners with thousands in savings.

    And helping them what?

    Lower their energy bills.

    What about the rest of us?

    Well, we just have to pretend that we have access to public transport so the Irish Green Party fanatics that have never once stepped a foot outside of Dublin won’t lecture us.

    Time to ditch Ireland’s Greenwashing Party and send Ryan back to his South Dublin mansion.

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    Mute Dan Dare
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    Aug 1st 2023, 4:58 PM

    Was he awake when he said this? Or was it a dream?

    62
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    Mute Yoly Macaraeg
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    Aug 1st 2023, 3:16 PM

    After the next election retrofitting will be a thing of the past when Sinn Fein/ira are I’m power.

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    Mute Derek Lyster
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    Aug 1st 2023, 5:46 PM

    Is anyone really surprised

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    Mute Pato
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    Aug 1st 2023, 4:34 PM

    All initiatives, however well intentioned, gets ground out of use by our public “servants”.

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    Mute John Meade
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    Aug 1st 2023, 5:38 PM

    So is he taking the blame here, it’s pn his watch

    26
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    Mute Liam Foy
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    Aug 1st 2023, 9:50 PM

    I wonder who the fool is , the citizen paying carbon taxes since 2010 that has not received one free solar panel and storage battery or the politician who taking this tax under the pretence it’s to save our burning planet using this tax for other things.

    Everyone who own a home thirteen years later should have got some free renewable on their property. But what do we have banks offering green loans.

    It’s a big crafty joke Irelands effort taxing us to save the planet. America, china, Japan , all big polluters who don’t pay any carbon tax.

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    Mute Jacinta Sheekey
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    Aug 2nd 2023, 8:11 AM

    We applied via the one shop mechanism and paid for the energy rating report. Every existing piece of works done to date was ignored. Cost of works to be done came in at 50k, after grants of 8k. Fees for the one stop shop admin would have been 4k. We don’t have 54k to regenerate a mid terrace house built in 1914. The grant scheme is a joke unless you are rich enough to pay for the work or lucky enough to to pay nothing because the rest of us will pay the inflated costs for your works in all the taxes, income tax, usc, house tax, and levies. Nothing left to save to pay for works as esb and gas hikes wipe out any such possibility.

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    Mute Liam Foy
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    Aug 2nd 2023, 10:20 AM

    @Jacinta Sheekey: keep emailing government for a free solar panel and battery. You have paid for this in carbon taxes every time you took the bus, drove a car, took a train, switched the gas on…since 2010. If more people ask we get this solar panel and battery.
    It’s a start and once set up it’s cheaper to add a free solar panel the following years. That’s how renewables save or burning planet.

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    Mute Frank Heffernan
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    Aug 1st 2023, 4:47 PM

    10k per house. Chicken feed.

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    Mute paulgurney
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    Aug 2nd 2023, 10:33 AM

    Another “scheme” where to qualify you must be over 90 years of age, both grandparents still living and able to speak Klingon fluently..Simple really and it allows Waffler O Brien and Waffler Ryan another minute of “what We’ve Done” radio time

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    Mute F Fitzgerald
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    Aug 2nd 2023, 11:33 AM

    It really does seem as if they’re waiting for people to become homeless before helping to insulate homes.

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    Mute Jippo Nolan
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    Aug 1st 2023, 11:03 PM

    Maybe the bould Eamo can don a hazmat suit & give a dig out!

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