Indian officials trade blame for train plowing into festival crowd - 60 people confirmed dead

People run for their lives after a commuter train travelling at high speed ran through a crowd of people on the rail tracks on Friday, in Amritsar, India, October 20, 2018 [Courtesy]

India’s railway officials and local community leaders traded blame on Saturday over an accident in which a train ran over scores of people gathered on the railway tracks for a festival in the northern city of Amritsar, killing at least 59.

A large crowd had formed near the tracks on the city’s fringe for the burning of effigies as part of a major Hindu festival on Friday when the train sped through the gathering in darkness, officials and witnesses said.