Authorities in the state of Bihar have decided to reward a class 5 boy for his valour. The boy is responsible for saving several lives.

The 12-year-old boy has saved the lives of hundreds of passengers by making a speeding passenger train stop before it could cross over a broken railway track. The reward by Bihar authorities could be in cash or citation.

THE HERO BOY

Bhim Yadav studies in a government middle school at Mangalpur.

Class 5 boy -- Bhim Yadav -- has showed impeccable courage. He made the driver who was unaware of the imminent danger ahead stop the train on the track in West Champaran district.

He removed his red shirt and flagged it as he shivered in the blistering cold to save the lives of hundreds of people.

"That is indeed a brave act. We are going to reward him for his bravery which saved the lives of passengers. The reward could be in form of cash or citation. We are still deciding over it but one thing is sure, he is going to be rewarded," the local district education officer Harendra Jha told the Gulf News on Wednesday.

According to Harendra, he came to know about Bhim's bravery through newspapers and he shared the boy's courage with his fellow officials too.

"We really are proud of this boy and salute his bravery," chief public relations officer of the East Central Railways Rajesh Kumar told the Gulf News.

THE INCIDENT

Bhim was going towards his orchards when he spotted the broken railway track on the Gorakhpur-Narkatiaganj railway line.

He ran as fast as he could on the tracks and flagged his shirt to make the speeding train stop which saved the lives of hundreds of passengers.

According to reports, the driver initially was clueless as to what was happening. When the undeterred Bhim intensely flagged his red shirt, the driver of the passenger train pulled the emergency brake which halted the strain midway. It was then when the driver learnt that the track was broken.

IT'S CONTAGIOUS

Bhim has always heard about the acts of bravery of the other boys in the area. The idea of doing something great was always growing like a tree inside him.

"Once I had visited a relative in the nearby village where the people were talking about a bravery of a boy. I too wanted to do something so that the society could discuss about me as well. I am happy to save the lives of the passengers," the boy told the local media.

INDIA, TRAIN DERAILMENTS AND DEATHS

Death toll in India from derailment of trains in 2016-17 is the highest it has been in 10 years, according to an IndiaSpend analysis of data tabled in the upper house of the parliament, the Rajya Sabha, on March 31, 2017 and August 11, 2017.

The death toll of 193 comes during a year which reported the fewest train accidents over 10 years (104) ending March 2017; 78 of these accidents were derailments.

As many as 1,394 train accidents were reported in India over the 10 years considered for this very analysis. Out of 1,394 accidents, 51 per cent or 708 were due to derailments.

As many as 458 people have died due to train derailments over the last 10 years, according to the same IndiaSpend report.