Selfie mania takes 24 lives on rail tracks so far this year

Twenty four youth died from January to October end this year due to careless behaviour on railway tracks.  National Council for Road Safety (NCRS) Media Coordinator Buddhika Prabath said the victims had been attempting to take selfies on the rail track when they were killed by moving trains.

In the absence of last year’s data as regards selfie-related accidents, the National Council for Road Safety (NCRS) was however not in a position to compare the situation pertaining to deaths and injuries on railway tracks.

NCRS Media Coordinator  Prabath told The Island that the NCRS lacked the required data for the previous year.

Giving a breakdown of train related accidents within the same period this year, Buddhika said that there had been 61 accidents at level crossings involving trains and vehicles, 348 vehicles had been damaged due to crashing into rail gates at level crossings and 53 cases of people falling off fast moving trains,

The official said 342 accidents had occurred due to walking on rail tracks and crossing them. Of them 151 had died, he added.

Buddika said there had been 84 accidents at level crossings, 506 instances of damage caused due to vehicles crashing into rail gates and 76 falls off trains.