As scores of Dussehra revellers watching the burning of Ravana effigy were mowed down by a passing train near Amritsar, the disturbing video footage of the accident showed many across the railway tracks filming the celebrations on their mobile phones when the tragedy struck.
At least 60 people died and many more injured in the accident between Manawala and Ferozpur stations near Amritsar, when the train ran through the crowd that had assembled across the tracks to watch the Dussehra event.
Amritsar train accident video pic.twitter.com/hb9Q3f9qL6
— Satinder pal singh (@SATINDER_13) October 19, 2018
Punjab minister Navjot Sidhu's wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu, who was the chief guest at the programme, later said nobody knew how the accident happened as people were enjoying and also taking selfies standing on the tracks.
Many, including political leaders, took to Twitter to express dismay over the selfie culture during such tragic incidents.
"What a mindless & entirely avoidable tragedy! Watching this video you'd be hard pressed to imagine the scale of the tragedy considering the way people are nonchalantly filming away on their phones even after the train has run over people!," former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeted.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Preeti Sharma Menon tweeted, it was so unbelievable that the train ran over the crowd "and they continued filming".
Video footage of the accident on television channels showed several mobile phones flashing from across the tracks when the horrific accident occurred.
During several other tragedies in the past, people were seen taking selfies, which has been criticised by many as apathy and disrespectful towards the victims.
#AmritsarTrainAccident | People have told me had Mrs. Sidhu come on time, then this entire incident wouldn't have happened: Bikram Majithia, Akali Dal pic.twitter.com/xFkGqpkOW0
— Republic (@republic) October 19, 2018
What a sad, sad Dussehra! An avoidable tragedy. If only the local authorities, the organisers of the event & the railways had done their jobs properly, those people would still be alive.
— vir sanghvi (@virsanghvi) October 19, 2018
My deepest sympathies to the families of the victims https://t.co/FwqKj5brBE
Administration had no proper knowledge about place of the event
— Smoking Skills (@SmokingSkills_) October 19, 2018
Organisers didn’t even take the permission to organise event
Organizer was Congress leader Navjot Kaur Siddhu.
But this darbari will still blame Modi even during such tragedy. #AmritsarTrainAccident pic.twitter.com/SWmPSXiCbp
#AmritsarTrainAccident whom to blame for the casualties 50 lives lost due to show of Power pathetic Politician have no shame at all and look who's wife was making speech @sherryontopp shameless murderer pic.twitter.com/6lMHIxRu1A
— अजय✒ (@juswanasay) October 19, 2018
Blood donors are required for casualties resulting from the #AmritsarTrainAccident . Donors please report to Civil Hospital and Guru Nanak Hospital in Amritsar. @BloodDonorsIn @iCanSaveLife
— Nistula Hebbar (@nistula) October 19, 2018
#AmritsarTrainAccident #Amritsar
— A (@amankplayer) October 19, 2018
I was very close to this place when it happened. Pics rcvd on whatsapp pic.twitter.com/hPBWFWgGyJ