Make road, rail safety a priority, Congress tells government

NEW DELHI: Congress today strongly urged the government to accord priority to road and rail safety in the country even as it expressed sorrow over the accident in Telangana in which 16 schoolchildren lost their lives.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi expressed deep sorrow over the incident in which 13 people, including 12 school children, were killed and 15 other children seriously injured when a train rammed into their bus at an unmanned railway crossing.

Extending her condolences to the families of those killed in the mishap, Sonia Gandhi said that her prayers were with them in this moment and expressed the hope that all the necessary steps would be taken to ensure road and rail safety.

Eighteen persons, including 16 children, were killed when a school bus collided with a train today at an unmanned railway crossing at Chegunta in Telangana's Medak district.

In his message, the Congress Vice President said, "We must make rail and road safety a priority to ensure that such accidents do not take place and precious lives are not lost."