15 killed, 30 injured attempting to steal fuel from train in India
Saturday, September 20, 2008
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Fifteen people are dead, and thirty more have become ill after attempting to steal fuel from a freight train travelling through Karbi Anglong, Assam, India. It is thought they broke into a tank containing toxic chemicals.
According to a railway official, the train was in the remote region with 48 wagons of petrol and diesel when raiders intercepted it. The train was in a forested area at the time and was surrounded by armed men, a common occurrence in an area where trains transporting products to and from refineries are regularly targeted.
Witnesses described liquid pumping out of a tank at high pressure. There are no reports as in to what the tank contained, but the fumes were toxic; when police arrived they found that fifteen had succumbed to the gas, and thirty more were sickened by it. A number of empty oil drums, presumably intended for fuel from the train, were also discovered.
[edit] Sources
- "15 train robbers killed by poison gas in Assam" — Reuters, September 20, 2008
- "Fumes kill 15 trying to steal fuel in India" — Agence France-Presse, September 20, 2008
