Timely intervention by a loco pilot and locals saved the lives of 40 students after the school bus they were travelling on got stuck on railway tracks at a level crossing in Nagpur, an official said on Friday.

The incident occurred at Khaperkheda around 4 pm on Thursday when the school bus driver did not stop even after seeing the red signal at the level crossing, the police official said.

When the bus was on the tracks, both gates of the level crossing closed as a train was to pass through the area, he said.

Within moments, panic and chaos prevailed at the road-rail intersection. Locals soon spilled onto the tracks in their efforts to signal the train driver to stop.

A railway official said a passenger train was going from Chhindwara in MP to Itwari in Nagpur at the time. Seeing the school bus in the middle of the level crossing, the gatekeeper alerted the officials through a walkie-talkie.

Sensing something was not right since many people had gathered on the tracks, the loco pilot applied the brakes and brought the train to a halt before the level crossing, he said.

Within ten minutes, the official said, the track was cleared and the bus safely crossed to the other side, he said.

Khaparkheda police station in-charge Dhanaji Zalak said the school bus driver was at fault as he drove the vehicle despite seeing the red signal and knowing the automatic gates would be closing. “On his part, the driver had moved the bus parallel to the railway tracks,” he said.

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