“Though the gateman tried to alert the van driver about the train, the driver couldn't hear his warnings because he had an earphone on,” Pandey said. The driver and six children were also injured in the collision at the railway crossing, between Katka and Madhosingh railway stations, 275 km from Lucknow. As many as 40 per cent of India's train accidents happen at railway crossings each year, railway officials have said. The bus driver appeared not to have heard a gateman's warning about the approaching Varanasi-Allahbad passenger train because he was wearing earphones at the time, district police chief Arvind Bhushan Pandey said. It was not immediately clear why the driver was wearing the earphones.

Source: The Telegraph July 25, 2016 11:48 UTC