Railway Fatalities Research Articles

A Study of Death Due to Railway Accidents: An Autopsy Based Cross Sectional Study Conducted in a Tertiary Care Hospital

A train accident is defined as “Collision, Derailment, or any other event involving the operation of n- track equipment”. To estimate the pattern of injuries in Railway Accidents and to estimate the Cause of death and Manner of death in Railway Accidents. The present study is conducted in Department of Forensic Medicine, Government Stanley Medical College from January 2020 to December 2020 in all the cases of Railway Accidents subjected to postmortem examination. During the study period, 61 cases were subjected for autopsy, the most common age group is 20 to 40 years. The most commonly injured organ is Brain followed by Liver and most of them died within 12 to 24 hours prior to post mortem examination. The railway fatalities were more of accidental in nature, less frequently suicidal and rarely homicidal. Internal organs commonly involved Brain followed by spinal cord, liver etc., It is also found that injuries to the upper half of the body are more common when compared to that of lower half of the body. The most common cause of death was hemorrhage shock from Multiple injuries, followed by Head injury, Thoracic injury, and Abdominal injury.

Analysis of Injury Patterns in Railway Track Death and their correlation with Manner of Death in the Bhopal Region- An Autopsy Based Study

Cases of deaths due to railway injuries are important in respect to medico- legal investigation to find out the underlying cause and manner of death. This study was undertaken for assessment of load and to study the cases of railway fatalities for the pattern of injuries sustained, manner and cause of death with the evaluation of factors responsible for such events and to suggest recommendations for curbing such events. The primary goal of this study, which focused on 107 railway-related deaths at the Gandhi Medical College in Bhopal, was to identify the cause of death from the pattern of injuries. In our study we found 91.6% of the 107 victims were men, while 8.4% were women. Most victims (54.2%) were in the age range of 21 to 40. 90.7% of 107 incidents resulted in spot deaths. In case of the visceral injuries brain and liver are maximum affected organs. Externally abrasion and contusions are commonly seen in both type of cases, abrasion found in almost 100 percent cases. Laceration and crushed injuries are more commonly seen in accidental cases and decapitation seen only in suicidal cases. There were no homicide cases in this study; instead, 66.4% of the cases were accidental and 33.6 percent of the cases were suicide. Our study's analysis suggests that after detailed examination of spot and body position at the scene of crime, closely checking for injury pattern and their frequency in same type of cases, obtaining detailed history from police, relatives and eye witnesses we can opine a possible manner of death.

Identification issues in bodies maimed by train fatalities: The role of the forensic pathologist.

Traffic accident injuries are relevant causes of mortality in industrialized countries. Among traffic accidents, the most destructive effect on the victim's body is produced by trains, which in a very short time provoke a complete distortion of the normal anatomical profiles and extensive amputations of the body. Deaths by severe body mutilation and/or decapitation require complex forensic investigation, as the victims' identification and the recognition of their body are not often feasible. In this study, a retrospective analysis of a series of cases of railway accidents is presented, with the aim of showing potential identification strategies, including a systematic physical re-assembling of the body. Among the railway fatalities assessed at the University Institute of Legal Medicine of Milan from 2016 until 2020, 61 cases were analyzed, focusing on the collection of postmortem data to improve accuracy for the identification of the victims. The results showed that the identification could be based on elements traditionally called "secondary identifiers" which, however, are becoming more and more important for positive identification, especially when dealing with migrants, vagrants, and homeless people. However, several issues need to be considered such as the limitations of the public prosecutors to perform expensive analyses (i.e., genetic testing), and the lack of antemortem data to be compared with postmortem findings, both odontological and fingerprint. In cases where it is not possible to proceed with identification or formal recognition of victims of railroad accidents with severe mutilations, a systematic physical re-assembling of the body is critical to reaching positive identification.

Profile Study of Railway Fatality Cases Brought for Postmortem Examination at SMS Medical College, Jaipur

Background: A train accident is defined as a “collision, derailment, or any other event involving the operation ofon-track equipment.” Train accidents can beget ruinous damages and particular injuries including the death ofthe person.Methods: In the present study,themajority of victims were between 21- 40 years of age. There was a ruralpreponderance in our study population with 34.13% victims from urban regions and 48.41% victims from ruralregions. Students comprised the largest section (33.33%) of railway related deaths followed by self employedpeople (30.17%). The maximum numbers of railway fatalities in this study were accidental(67.46%) followed bysuicides (27.78%). The victims of fatal railway related deaths mainly succumbed to Hemorrhage & shock, injuriesto vital organs and head injuries.Conclusion: Public awareness about safety measures and existing laws will also alleviate some of the fatalities.The railway authorities must take steps to prevent the accident by acknowledging the safety engineering,training,awareness among staff and strict law enforcement.

An autopsy study of railway fatalities

Railway fatalities are not uncommon due to the wide net across the country covering diverse regions of the nation. It is essential to understand the Injuries Pattern, Manner and Cause of Death. To Study the Cause of Death, Manner of Death, Pattern & Nature of Injuries in Railway Fatalities. A retrospective study conducted between 2009 to 2015. A total of 32 cases Reported. All cases referred to the Department of Forensic Medicine for Autopsy by the Railway Police. In the Present Study Railway Fatalities Contributed to 3.9% of the Autopsies. Major Age Group affect were 21-40 years contributing to 75% of cases. Mae to Female Ratio was 6.5:1. Suicidal Deaths Contributed to 75% of the cases. In Twenty Six Cases Body Parts were found in between the Railway Tracks and in thirty Cases Mutilated Parts were Found Distant to the Site of impact.

Circumstances of death and pattern of fatal railway injury

The progressive extension of railway networking and increasing number of passengers as well as goods train to meet the demands of rapid industrialization and growing urbanisation, results in an increase in the various modes of railway fatalities. To evaluate the pattern and distribution of fatal railway injuries in relation to the circumstances of death in cases of railway related deaths. The study was conducted at Forensic Medicine and Toxicology department of M.K.C.G. Medical College & Hospital, Berhampur for medico legal autopsy on selected cases of death due to alleged railway injuries, were subjected to thorough post mortem examination and the pattern of injuries noted.A total number of 1314 cases were brought for medico-legal autopsy during the study period, out of which 94 cases were selected for the present study having clear history of railway related deaths (in which either a train caused death or in which a body was found on the track) excluding all other causes of death (even the cases brought by the GRPS having natural deaths were not considered as study material). The study conducted in the department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology revealed that the number of railway related deaths, both accidents and suicides is substantial in the locality. Amongst these, accidental railway deaths (63.83%) outnumber the other manners of death. The ante mortem nature of the railway injuries could be well established in the present case study material.

Pattern of Injuries in Railway Fatalities at Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital, Bangalore

Background: The Indian Railways, started over 167 years ago, is among the world’s largest rail network. In acountry like India, the railway network is ideal for long-distance travel and movement of bulk commodities,apart from being an energy efficient and economic mode of conveyance and transport. Although beneficialin a multitude of ways, railway fatalities are known to cause tremendous loss, in terms of human lives aswell as economic forfeiture.Methods and results: A 7-month prospective and descriptive type of autopsy study was conducted at theDepartment of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital attached to ShriAtal Bihari Vajpayee Medical College and Research Institute, Bangalore. Out of 98 cases of railwayfatalities, maximum number of deaths belonged to 21- 30 years age group i.e., 33 cases (33.67%) with malepreponderance (88 cases – 89.79%). The Hindu community contributed to 54 cases (55.10%). Maximumcases occurred in the monsoon season (34 cases - 34.69%) and majority of victims were found dead at thescene (90 cases - 91.83%). The predominant manner of death was suicidal (49 cases - 50%) and the mostcommon cause for death was shock and hemorrhage (53 cases - 54.08%).Conclusion: Studies such as this, can help in better understanding of railway fatalities which can help policymakers in implementing counteractive measures to prevent accidental deaths, discourage suicidal deaths andto improve railway safety in general.

Magnitude of Morbidity and Mortality and Trends in Fatal Railway Injuries

Background: Railway accidents that take human lives and economic toll are mostly underreported and go unnoticed and the victims of such incidences are poorly paid as well. Therefore it is important to pay due attention to the deaths of the Railway and devise effective policies to provide fair treatment to the victims of these incidents and also to make efforts to minimize them. Aims: To assess and judge the exact magnitude of morbidity and mortality and trends in fatal railway injuries. Materials and methods: This Retrospective study carried out at the mortuary of the teaching hospital on the incidence of railway deaths the material comprised of 298 victims who died exclusively of railway injuries. Results: In our Institute, medicolegal autopsies constitute 35% of the total autopsies. Autopsies in cases of Railways constitute around 10% of the total medicolegal autopsies. Most of the victims were in the age group of 21 to 30 years, males contributed to 70% and females 30%, but still, then female, alcohol was detected in the body in 13% of cases, distribution of the external injuries showed that there are commonest in the head region(73%),More than one reason was involved in the majority of cases. Conclusion: It is suggested that a set of preventive measures for a multipronged strategy to minimize railroad deaths.

A review of the technological developments for interlocking at level crossing

A Level Crossing remains as one of the highest risk assets within the railway system often depending on the unpredictable behaviour of road and footpath users. For this purpose, interlocking through automated safety systems remains a key area for investigation. Within Europe, 2015–2016, 469 accidents at crossings were recorded of which 288 lead to fatalities and 264 lead to injuries. The European Union’s Agency for Railways has reported that Level Crossing fatalities account for just under 28% of all railway fatalities. This paper identifies suitable obstacle detection technologies and their associated algorithms that can be used to support risk reduction and management of Level Crossings. Furthermore, assessment and decision methods are presented to support their application. Finally state of the art and synergistic opportunity of which a combination of obstacle detection sensors with intelligent decisions layers such as Deep Learning are discussed which can provide robust interlocking decisions for rail applications. The sensor fusion of video camera and RADAR is a promising solution for Level Crossings. By applying additional sensing techniques such as RADAR imaging, further capabilities are added to the system, which can lead to a more robust approach.

A Comprehensive Analytical Study of Railway Fatalities in Twin Cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad

A Comprehensive Analytical Study of Railway Fatalities in Twin Cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad

Assessment of Load and Descriptive Analysis of Fatal Railway Injuries at SMS Hospital, Jaipur-An Autopsy based Study During the Year 2014–15

Although less frequent than automobile accidents, train accidents have a major impact on victims’ lives. Present Descriptive Observational study was done to assess the load and analyze the cases of fatal railway injuries at the Department of Forensic Medicine, SMS medical college and Hospital, Jaipur (Rajasthan) during period of May 2014 to November 2015.

Characteristics of railway suicides in Canada and comparison with accidental railway fatalities: Implications for prevention

This study presents and compares the prevalence and characteristics of rail-related suicide and other railway fatalities in Canada over 10years, from 1999 to 2008. The methodology involved in-depth data analysis of records from provincial coroner and medical examiner’s investigations, railway company reports and Transportation Safety Board data. We identify physical risk factors and psychosocial descriptions of people who commit suicide and compared them to accidental (non-suicide) railway fatalities in order to identify at-risk populations and better target and elaborate railway suicide prevention strategies. We identified 460 accidental deaths and 428 suicides. Most people (94.7%) died on the site of the incident, although not always immediately. Canada does not have any specific locations with high incidence suicide or accidents clusters. We conclude that impairment of some type, by illness, substance abuse or intoxication, advanced age or immature youth, play an important role in a significant number of accidents, suggesting that more intense warnings of approaching trains may help prevent accidental deaths. Mental illness, although often being treated, is associated with the majority of suicide fatalities, and more than one-third of suicides occur on rails near psychiatric facilities, suggesting targeted prevention strategies in facilities near rails and at track locations in proximity to mental health facilities.What is already known on this subject:–In other countries we have basic data on location, time and date, gender, age and some basic epidemiological characteristics of railway fatalities, usually combining suicides and accidental fatalities in studies of collisions or Person Under Train (PUT) incidents.–Hotspots for suicides have been identified in Europe, often near psychiatric facilities.What this study adds:–We provide more in-depth information on fatality victims from analyses of detailed coroners’ investigations and industry reports on all railway fatalities in Canada over an extended period of ten years.–We compare characteristics of deaths by suicide with accident fatalities in order to develop specific recommendations for prevention programmes that consider the specific characteristics of each type of fatality.–Our approach provides a model for developing prevention strategies based upon in-depth comparative analyses of suicides and accident fatalities to adapt prevention approaches to characteristics unique to a country or location, and the different characteristics of people who die on railways by suicide and in accidental fatalities.

Varying Pattern of Injuries in Different Types of Railway Fatalities

A study on 78 railway fatalities in Kerala showed that 65% of the dead bodies were found dismembered. Patterns of injuries in different types of railway fatalities were observed. The pattern of injuries seen in deaths due to suicide in upright positions matched with the deaths due to accidental train-person collision. Decapitation, without injuries to the trunk and lower limbs, was found commonly in those cases in which the suicide was accomplished by lying on the railway track. Decapitation was rare in other types of deaths.

Study of Railway Fatalities in Moradabad District

Accidental deaths and injuries are inevitable in this modern way of living. Railways are safe and efficient mode of travelling in India but deaths due to railways are not negligible as compared to road traffic deaths. Moradabad division of northern railway has total route 1402 km over which 107 pair of mail/express and 53 pair of passenger trains run daily. The present study is done to find out the epidemiological factors and pattern of injuries in railway related fatalities. Total 268 cases were brought for post-mortem examination during 3 year period from 2010 to 2012 in Moradabad. Males were predominantly involved with M: F ratio of 14.7:1. Maximum no. of victims 95 (35.45%) were in the age group 21–30 years. Seasonal distribution was uniform and majority of victims died on the spot 239 (89.18%) cases. Maximum no. of fatalities was accidental in nature 211(78.74%) cases and injuries to vital organs seen in 173 (64.56%) cases were the most common cause of death.

The Job of a Forensic Expert in Railway Fatalities-Redefined!

The number of people dying due to Railway Fatalities is increasing enormously every year. During the study period i.e. from 01-11-2013 to 31-10-2015 the total number of autopsies conducted at mortuary of Gandhi Hospital, Secunderabad were 9483 out of which 480 cases were due to railway fatalities upto 4.79% of the total cases in the I year of study and 5.31% of the total cases in the II year of study thereby showing an increase of 0.52%. Many times a Homicide or suicide might go unnoticed or is mistaken for an accident and justice is not done to the deceased.

Development of a Comprehensive Programme to Prevent and Reduce the Negative Impact of Railway Fatalities, Injuries and Close Calls on Railway Employees.

This article presents a strategy to prevent trauma, support and care for railway personnel who experience critical incidents (CI) on the job, usually fatalities by accident or suicide. We reviewed all publications on CI management, support and care practices in the railway industry, as well as practices in place in Canada (unpublished protocols). Semi structured interviews were conducted with 40 train engineers and conductors involved in CIs and the content was coded and analysed quantitatively. Employees' satisfaction with the help received after the incident varies according to the behaviour of the local manager, company officers and police, the level of compliance with existing company protocols to help them, the presence of unmet expectations for support and care, their perceived competency of clinicians they consulted and the level of trust toward their employers. On the basis of the interview results, the review of existing railway practices and discussions with railway stakeholders, a model protocol was developed for a comprehensive workplace prevention, support and care protocol to reduce the negative impact of railway critical incidents on employees. This protocol includes preventive actions before traumatic events occur, immediate responses at the site of incident, interventions within the first few days after the incident and longer term support and interventions provided by the company and by outsourced experts.

Stable time patterns of railway suicides in Germany: comparative analysis of 7,187 cases across two observation periods (1995–1998; 2005–2008)

BackgroundThe majority of fatalities on the European Union (EU) railways are suicides, representing about 60% of all railway fatalities. The aim of this study was to compare time patterns of suicidal behaviour on railway tracks in Germany between two observation periods (1995–1998 and 2005–2008) in order to investigate their stability and value in railway suicide prevention.MethodsCases were derived from the National Central Registry of person accidents on the German railway network (STABAG). The association of daytime, weekday and month with the mean number of suicides was analysed applying linear regression. Potential differences by observation period were assessed by adding observation period and the respective interaction terms into the linear regression. A 95% confidence interval for the mean number of suicides was computed using the t distribution.ResultsA total of 7,187 railway suicides were recorded within both periods: 4,102 (57%) in the first period (1995–1998) and 3,085 (43%) in the second (2005–2008). The number of railway suicides was highest on Mondays and Tuesdays in the first period with an average of 3.2 and 3.5 events and of 2.6 events on both days in the second period. In both periods, railway suicides were more common between 6:00 am and noon, and between 6:00 pm and midnight. Seasonality was only prominent in the period 1995–1998.ConclusionsOver the course of two observation periods, the weekday and circadian patterns of railway suicides remained stable. Therefore, these patterns should be an integral part of railway suicide preventive measures, e.g. gatekeeper training courses.

Pattern of Railway Fatalities in Western Vidarbha Region of India

The study was carried out to understand the epidemiology of railway fatalities and injuries which may help in reducing such incidences. It was carried out in Akola region from January 2011 to December 2012. The data was obtained from medico-legal post mortem reports, police inquest report and other relevant documents. Among all the post mortems, 4.5% of cases belonged to railway fatalities. Males (89.65%) were the major victims. The common age group was 21–40 years (51%). Majority of victims died on the spot (91.37%) and a large number of victims identity was not established (29.31%). Cause of death in most of the victims was shock due to hemorrhage as a result of multiple injuries (67.24%). We conclude that most of the incidences are accidental in nature with young adult male predominance. Negligence of safety norms, poor medical facilities, illegal vendors and beggars are some of the factors for incidences.

Analysis of Fatal Railway Accidents in District Hospital, South India: A Retrospective Study

A three year retrospective study of railway related fatal cases was carried out, in district hospital, Tumkur, Karnataka, South India. Fatal railway cases form 4.65%(total 65 cases) of all autopsies (1398 cases). Victims were predominantly males (46 cases), maximum were in age group of 21–40 years i.e. 38 cases. More number of railway fatalities were accidental (86.15%) followed by the suicidal (13.85%) in nature. Crush injury involving extremities followed by injury to thorax and abdomen were the most common injuries, shock and hemorrhage being the commonest cause of death.

Delivery and death on railway track: A case report

Injuries and deaths due to accidents are inescapable in the modern way of living. The accidental deaths are mostly due to the road traffic, but the deaths due to railway fatalities are also not negligible, especially in the areas where railway traffic is high. Southern railways are major mode of transportation of the passengers and goods; consequently, the incidences of railway fatalities and mishaps are also high in South India. Most of the reported cases of railway deaths led to the conclusion that either the victim was directly hit by the train or died due to some other reason, but the body was recovered in the vicinity of the railway platforms. Here, we are discussing the injuries in a young pregnant woman in a train and pedestrian accident, where the injury to the abdomen resulted into the expulsion of preterm fetus and death of pregnant woman. Key words: Railway accident, death, delivery, autopsy.