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India says train drivers watching cricket caused crash that killed 14 in Andhra Pradesh

  • The fatal collision in Andhra Pradesh state took place as hosts India played England during the one-day World Cup in October last year
  • India’s railways minister said on Monday systems would be installed to ‘detect any such distraction’ in future and ensure drivers ‘are fully focused’

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Rescuers from India’s National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) search the site of the fatal train crash in Vizianagaram district of India’s Andhra Pradesh on October 30 last year. Photo: AFP
The drivers of a train that missed a signal and ploughed into another train, killing 14 people, were distracted because they were watching cricket on a phone, India’s railways minister said Monday.

The fatal collision in Andhra Pradesh state in October took place as hosts India played England during the one-day World Cup.

“The recent case in Andhra Pradesh happened because both the loco-pilot and co-pilot were distracted by the cricket match,” Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw said, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

India’s players celebrate after the dismissal of a batter for England during the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup one-day international match in Lucknow on October 29, 2023. Photo: AFP
India’s players celebrate after the dismissal of a batter for England during the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup one-day international match in Lucknow on October 29, 2023. Photo: AFP

“Now we are installing systems which can detect any such distraction and make sure that the pilots [train drivers] and the assistant pilots are fully focused on running the train.”

Hundreds of millions of fans in cricket-crazy India tuned in to watch the live broadcast of the World Cup match, which the hosts won.

Separately, officials sacked the station master and three other employees after a runaway goods train travelled 70km (40 miles) without a driver last month, the Hindustan Times reported.

The men were removed from their posts for negligence after some 50 carriages barrelled on solo for close to two hours.

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