35 killed, 200 injured as Delhi-bound train derails

Fatehpur (UP), Jul 10 (PTI) At least 35 passengers
were killed and over 200 injured when 15 bogies of a speeding
Delhi-bound Kalka Mail derailed here Sunday-the second major
train mishap in a week in north Indian state Uttar Pradesh.
The derailment took place at 12.20 PM when the packed
train from Howrah reached near Malwa station, nearly 120 kms
from Lucknow.
Railway Board Chairman Vinay Mittal, who rushed to
the accident site, said the cause for the derailment was being
ascertained.
According to preliminary investigations, the signals
were functioning normally and the fish plates on the tracks
were intact. To a question, Mittal said the driver was not
drunk. "I can't comment," he said on being asked whether he
suspected mischief.
"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 moving at about 108 kmph when
the accident occurred. "It was almost moving at the speed of
108 kmph which is full speed," Joshi said.
Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Fatehpur, KN Joshi said,
"35 of the passengers have died. About 200 injured are
undergoing treatment here."
"Rescue workers have not been able to enter two of the
bogies," Superintendent of Police, Fatehpur, Ram Bharose said,
adding the dead included women and children.
While some of the bogies had toppled, others were
turned into a mangled heap of metal. Gas cutters and other
equipment were used to slice through the metal in the AC and
other coaches to rescue the trapped passengers.
On July 7, the Mathura-Chhapra Express had crashed
into a bus carrying a marriage party at the Adhurpur unammaned
railway crossing Kanshiram Nagar, about 250 km from Lucknow,
leaving 38 bus passengers dead.
In today's mishap, 15 out of the total 24 compartments
derailed in the accident of which 10 bore the maximum brunt.
Of these, six air-conditioned coaches were affected.
While one AC 3-tier coach had turned turtle, another
coach was pushed to its top with the impact of the train
speeding at about 108 km per hour.
Two other AC coaches banged against each other and
stood almost vertically.
Desperate to wriggle out of the mangled compartments,
some of the trapped passengers were seen smashing the window
panes.
Deepali Pradhan, who was travelling from Kolkata to
Chandigarh, with seven family members, said the train was
moving at a fast speed when she suddenly heard a loud
explosion.
"Everything happened within seconds. There was a loud
explosion. I was lying down on the top berth and was flung
down. My brother-in-law suffered serious head injuries. My
mother and children were hurt," said Deepali who had bandages
on her hand and leg.
Locals, railway and district authorities immediately
launched the rescue operation. The army has also sent about
120 personnel from adjoining Allahabad and Kanpur to assist
them. A team of National Disaster Relief Force was also
deployed.
Some of the seriously injured passengers were flown
to Kanpur by helicopters, Fatehpur District magistrate
Mahendra Kumar said.
Two relief trains -- one each from Allahabad and
Kanpur -- were sent to ferry the passengers . Another relief
train was also sent from Delhi, Minister of State for Railways
Mukul Roy said, adding helplines have been opened at both the
Howrah and Delhi stations.
Roy said families of the dead would be given an
ex-gratia of Rs five lakh, while the seriously injured would
get Rs one lakh and those with minor injuries would be given
Rs 25,000.