A Statistical Analysis of Railway Traffic Fatalities brought for Medico-Legal Autopsy

Abstract

The Indian Railway Network is the fourth largest network in the world after USA, Russia and China. Railways have been an essential part of the Indian demography since its inception during the British rule. It provides effective means of transport and supply of essential commodities through length and breadth of the country. Railway was first introduced in Assam in 1881 from Dibrugarh to Margherita for transportation of tea and coal. The Northeast Frontier Railway operates in the entire northeast and parts of West Bengal and Bihar. With fast pace of commercialization and globalization, as has railway eased transportation so has also taken its toll on human lives. Railway incidents occur due to collisions, derailments, terrorism, suicides, technical and human errors. The spurt of such cases and casualties has augmented the study of such incidents, its trends and patterns. A retrospective study for 1 year (January to December 2017) was done on 100 cases of death victims of railway incident brought for autopsy to Mortuary, Dept. of Forensic Medicine, Gauhati Medical College & Hospital. The study revealed that males outnumbered females, majority were in 21–30 years age group and crush injury was the most common cause of death. The study highlights the epidemiological factors relevant to railway incidents and necessitates formulation and implementation of effective safety measures to reduce the burden of fatalities.

Keywords: Railway incidents, casualties, trends, safety measures

Cite this Article

Md. Tausif Arafat Hazarika, Biswadeep Paul. A Statistical Analysis of Railway Traffic Fatalities brought for Medico-Legal Autopsy. Research & Reviews: A Journal of Toxicology. 2018; 8(2): 8–14p.