We will do everything possible to assist the injured. Have directed the district administration to leave no stone u… https://t.co/DWtz5Kjxev — Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) 1539962719000

Have set up Crisis Management Group under @BrahmMohindra to monitor relief & rehabilitation efforts in #Amritsar. W… https://t.co/QIQJ2dWwjm — Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) 1539967244000

The state will remain in mourning tomorrow in view of #Amritsar train mishap. All offices & educational institutions will remain closed. — Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) 1539967245000

01:19Amritsar train mishap: Punjab CM Amarinder Singh assures all possible help to victims

AMRITSAR: It turned out to be a dark Dussehra as 61 people lost their lives in less than a minute, in a most horrific and bizarre train accident . A train at full speed tore through revellers who had been pushed back about 100 feet from the periphery of a burning effigy of Ravan. The toll is expected to rise, with 72 injured, several seriously.The men, women and children moved back onto the railway tracks. In the shadow of flames and crackle of explosions, none saw or heard the whistle of the rapidly approaching train. Death was immediate.The tragedy took place at the Joda Fatak area of Amritsar , where crowds — some reports say 300, others 1,000 — had gathered to watch the fireworks. As the effigy went up in flames, the organisers asked people to move back. The crowds spilled over to the tracks just as the Jalandhar-Amritsar DMU sped past.Eyewitnesses said the Amritsar-Howrah train had crossed the spot minutes earlier. Had the two trains crossed at the same time, casualties would have been way higher. Amritsar commissioner of police S S Srivastava put the death toll at 61 soon after the accident.How a Dussehra celebration was allowed so close to railway tracks and why the Railways were unaware of the event are questions yet to be answered. Anger and despair soaked the accident spot as the effigies’ flames spluttered to a deathly end at the event in Amritsar (East), a constituency represented by Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu , whose wife and former MLA from the area Navjot Kaur Sidhu was at the function but had left minutes before the tragedy.“I left the spot moments before after seeing all arrangements were in place,” she told reporters after the tragedy. “I raced back as soon as I heard about the accident.”Amritsar deputy commissioner Kamaldeep Singh Sangha said, “All city hospitals were alerted about the injured patients and ambulances from neighbouring districts have been requisitioned to carry the injured and dead,” he said.Locals are appalled at the negligence of both organisers and the state for the absence of any safety measures for an event right next to railway tracks. Local MLA and Punjab minister O P Soni visited the spot after the tragedy where he had to face the anger of the people.Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh has directed home secretary N S Kalsi, health secretary Satish Chandra and additional director general of police (law and order) Hardeep Singh Dhillon to immediately rush to Amritsar.The chief minister will fly to Amritsar on Saturday to assess the situation. Amarinder tweeted, “Rushing to Amritsar to personally supervise relief & rescue in tragic rail accident on Dussehra in Amritsar. My govt will give Rs 5 lakh to kin of each deceased & free treatment to injured in govt & pvt hospitals. District authorities have been mobilised on war footing.”