The Island Express train travelling from Bangalore to Kanyakumari derails on the Peruman bridge and falls into Ashtamudi Lake, killing 105 passengers and injuring over 200 more.
The Peruman railway accident occurred on 8 July 1988, when a train derailed on the Peruman bridge over Ashtamudi Lake in Kerala, India and fell into the water, killing 105 people. The cause was never established, but was blamed on track alignment and faulty wheels, possibly compounded by failure to notify maintenance workers about the approach of a delayed train that had been making-up time by travelling at excessive speed.
The 16525 /16526 Island Express is an Indian Railways train running between Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna Bangalore City railway station, Bangalore and Kanyakumari railway station, Kanyakumari. Train no. 16526 runs from Bengaluru to Kanyakumari, and Train No. 16525 runs in the reverse direction. The train runs daily through the state of Kerala (via Thiruvananthapuram,Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kottayam and Palakkad Junction) and covers the 944 km journey in about 19 hours 15 minutes.