The Sarai Banjara rail disaster occurred on 2 December 2000, when a derailed freight train crossed onto the opposite track early in the morning in Punjab, India.
The accident started when a cracked rail on the line between Mandi Gobindgarh and Rajpura in Punjab derailed a large freight train at 5.40 am without causing any injuries.
Although the wreckage did not catch fire, the devastation was serious, with jack-knifed carriages, twisted metal, and the sheer number of injured people hampering the immediate rescue efforts.
Ambulances arrived to take the injured to hospital, whilst local people, working alongside railway officials and emergency services tried to free the survivors trapped in the wreckage.
Following the crash, the Hindustan Times ran an editorial, which commented: "Indian Railways possibly runs the most unsafe service in the world.