12 coaches were derailed in the incident at around 0200 hours today, Railway spokesperson Anil Saxena said. Five coaches-B-1, B-2, B-3, B-4 and pantry car-overturned in the derailment while seven other coaches-B-5 to B-10 and power car-got derailed at the station, about 75 kms from Patna, he said.
The cause of the derailment is yet to be ascertained, he said.
Railway minister Sadanad Gowda expressed grief over the loss of lives in the mishap. He directed the Railway administration to render best possible treatment to the injured passengers.
Helplines have been set up to provide information to families of the victims and other passengers at Chapra, Samastipur, Hajipur, Sonpur, Barauni, Muzaffarpur, Lucknow, Varanasi, Balia, Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Mariani, Dimapur, Lumding, New Coochbehar, New Jalpaiguri and Katihar.