The Western Railway on Thursday said the train accident at Samlaya involving the Sabarmati Express, in which 17 people were killed, was caused by the 'mistake' of two railway employees.

"[The] accident was avoidable. Our staff have committed this mistake," Western Railway General Manager M Z Ansari told reporters at the site.

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Asked if there was any possibility of sabotage since a jack-bolt was found broken, he said the accident could not have happened merely because of that.

"The signal was also off. The signal maintainer and his helper came and then ran away. It means it is their mistake," Ansari said.

The mechanical interlocking system for signalling was also disturbed. "There would be no signal unless the line was clear. Here the signal was off. It means the system was disturbed. It seems the maintenance staff did not follow the correct procedure. After inspecting the site and position of the lever, we can say that it is due to their mistake," the official said.

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