At least 35 people were killed and over 200 injured when 15 bogies of a speeding Delhi-bound Kalka Mail derailed here today in the worst train accident this year.
The derailment took place at 12:20 pm, when the packed train from Howrah reached near Malwa station, nearly 120 kms from Lucknow. “15 bogies of the train derailed, out of which 10 are in bad shape. The exact cause of the derailment is being ascertained.
The Commissioner of Railway Safety has been directed to probe the incident,” General Manager, North Central Railway, H C Joshi said. He said the train was speeding at about 108 kmph when the accident occurred.
“Rescue workers have not been able to enter two of the bogies,” Superintendent of Police, Fatehpur, Ram Bharose, said. While some of the bogies had toppled, others were turned into a mangled heap of metal.Gas cutters and other equipment were used to cut through the metal in the AC and other coaches to rescue the trapped passengers.
Locals, railway and district authorities immediately launched the rescue operation. The army has also sent about 120 personnel to assist. A team of National Disaster Relief Force was also deployed.
Families of the dead would be given Rs 5 lakh, while the seriously injured would each get Rs 1 lakh and those with minor injuries Rs 25,000.
“Instructions have been issued to rush the injured to the nearest hospital or nursing homes at the earliest. The Railways would bear the cost of their treatment,” Minister of State for Railways Mukul Roy said.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has expressed shock and directed the Railway Ministry to deploy all resources in the area for rescue and relief operations.
Singh also spoke to the Minister of State for Railways about the incident. Eyewitnesses told reporters that the driver of the train was among those injured in the mishap. The mishap led to disruption of railway traffic on the Allahabad-Kanpur route leading to the cancellation of a couple of trains and diversion of several others. Meanwhile, anxious relatives and friends of the passengers, many of them in tears, gathered at Howrah, Kanpur and other stations to enquire about their loved ones. However, they faced a difficult time as information was trickling in at a slow pace. The Eastern Railway said it will run a special train from Howrah to take relatives of passengers to Malwa.
