NEW DELHI: The driver of the DMU train, which was involved in the

, said on Sunday that he did apply the emergency breaks and honked to disperse the crowd assembled on the track. However, he was unable to prevent the causalities, reported news agency ANI.

In a letter, the train driver, Arvind Kumar, said that as the train was about to stop, after he applied the emergency brakes, a mob started pelting stones on the train.

"Keeping in mind the security of the passengers on board the train, I did not stop the train and stopped only after reaching the ASR station," he said.

"I immediately passed the information to relevant officers," he added.

On Friday, around 59

by a train as they had gathered on the tracks to witness the burning of

Ravana

's effigy in

Amritsar

.

In the letter, Kumar went on to narrate the sequence of the events which led to the accident.

The driver claimed that he flouted no norms and adhered to the prescribed procedure during the entire journey.

"The moment the train reached Km No. - 503/11, train number 13006 DN crossed it. Suddenly, I saw a huge crowd of people on the tracks. I honked and immediately applied the emergency brakes. Despite applying the emergency brakes several number of people were mowed down by the train," he wrote.

In the 59 deaths, entire families and loved ones perished in just 10 seconds as the speeding DMU crushed them as they were watching the Ravan effigy go up in smoke.

The Punjab government on Saturday ordered a magisterial probe into the train tragedy.

The railways said it was not responsible for the tragedy.