At least 16 Kanwariyas (devotees of Lord Shiva [Images]) were crushed to death by an express train near Saryu Ghat railway station of Uttar Pradesh on Thursday,  triggering arson and violent protests.

The mishap occurred on Lucknow-Gorakhpur section when Lucknow-Gonda passenger train slowed down on the bridge over Saryu river ahead of the station and a large number of Kanwariyas got off the train in a bid to take water from the river for offerings at a temple at Karnelganj, northern railway divisional magistrate Ashima Singh said.

At this point, the Gorakhpur-bound Intercity Express pulled up on the adjacent track and crushed the Kanwariyas to death, she said.

The death toll could go up further as several Kanwariyas jumped into the river to avoid the train, superintendent of police NK Srivastva said, adding police and armed constabulary divers and boat had been pressed into service to trace them.

However, the operation to rescue or fish out possible survivors or bodies were hampered by darkness, he said.
Soon after the incident, a group of Kanwariyas set on fire one of the cabins of the railway station, some kiosks there and a fire tender, Srivastva said. A relief train had left for the site.

The area was gripped by tension as a mob of Kanwariyas remained at the incident site even as the authorities requisitioned Central Recruitment Police Force from the district headquarters, Srivastva said. Movement of trains on the section came to a halt following the incident, they added.