By IANS,
New Delhi : Railway accidents in India since 2009 left 507 people dead, the government said Friday.
Minister of State for Railways K.J. Surya Prakash Reddy told the Rajya Sabha that the figure was 68 in 2009-10, 251 in 2010-11, 115 in 2011-12, and 73 till November 2012.
These figures did not include deaths due to intrusion at unmanned level crossing by road vehicles, he said in a statement.
The total accidents took place in all 16 railway divisions in the country.
The statement said the 251 deaths of 2010-11 included the 152 who died in the derailment and collision of Jnaneswari Express near Kharagpur in May 2010 due to sabotage.
The minister said there was no general policy to provide employment to dependents of those who die in train accidents.
“However, considering the human suffering in major train accidents, employment has been provided purely as a humanitarian gesture whenever an announcement was made by the railway minister,” he said.