15 killed, 30 injured attempting to steal fuel from train in India

This is the stable version, checked on 18 December 2024. Template changes await review.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Fifteen people are dead, and thirty more have become ill after attempting to steal fuel from a freight train travelling through Karbi Anglong, Assam, India. It is thought they broke into a tank containing toxic chemicals.

According to a railway official, the train was in the remote region with 48 wagons of petrol and diesel when raiders intercepted it. The train was in a forested area at the time and was surrounded by armed men, a common occurrence in an area where trains transporting products to and from refineries are regularly targeted.

Witnesses described liquid pumping out of a tank at high pressure. There are no reports as in to what the tank contained, but the fumes were toxic; when police arrived they found that fifteen had succumbed to the gas, and thirty more were sickened by it. A number of empty oil drums, presumably intended for fuel from the train, were also discovered.


Sources