The Dhamara Ghat train accident kills at least 37 people in the Indian state of Bihar.
Dhamara Ghat train accident
The Dhamara Ghat train accident occurred on 19 August 2013 when the Saharsa Patna Rajya Rani Express train struck a large group of people at the Dhamara Ghat railway station in the Indian state of Bihar. At least 28 people were killed and 24 injured. The victims were mostly Hindu pilgrims returning from prayers at the nearby Katyayani temple. The accident triggered a protest by passengers who beat the driver unconscious, attacked staff and torched two coaches of the train. The chief minister of Bihar State, Nitish Kumar, called it "the rarest of rare tragedies". He pledged 200,000 rupees, or around $3,180, for the family of each victim, and urged the railway ministry to do the same.
Bihar
Bihar also spelled Behar in colonial documents, is a state in Eastern India. It is the second largest state by population, the 12th largest by area, and the 14th largest by GDP in 2024. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Bengal to the east, and Jharkhand to the south. Bihar is split by the river Ganges, which flows from west to east. On 15 November 2000, a large chunk of southern Bihar was ceded to form the new state of Jharkhand. Around 11.27% of Bihar's population live in urban areas as per a 2020 report. Additionally, almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, giving Bihar the highest proportion of young people of any Indian state. The official language is Hindi, which shares official status alongside that of Urdu. The main native languages are Maithili, Magahi and Bhojpuri, but there are several other languages being spoken at smaller levels.