The year's worst railway accident involving the Kalka Mail, which left at least 35 dead and 200 injured was followed by the blast-induced derailment of the Guwahati-Puri Express in Assam, in which 100 were injured
The year's worst railway accident involving the Kalka Mail, which left at least 35 dead and 200 injured was followed by the blast-induced derailment of the Guwahati-Puri Express in Assam, in which 100 were injured
At least 35 people were killed and over 200 were injured when 15 bogies of the Delhi-bound Kalka Mail derailed here yesterday in the worst train accident this year. 
The train was moving at 108 kmph when 15 of its bogies were derailed. Army, local police, railway police and National Disaster Relief Force teams rushed to rescue the injured
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.
"It was moving at the speed of 108 kmph which is nearlyu00a0 its top speed," Joshi said. Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Fatehpur, KN Joshi said 35 of the passengers had 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.
Mangled heaps
While some of the bogies had toppled, others were turned into mangled heaps of metal. The crowded general compartment behind the engine was the worst hit.
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Gas cutters and other equipment were used to cut through the metal in the AC and other coaches to rescue the trapped passengers.
"A number of passengers are still inside the bogies and attempts are on to take them out," officials said several hours after the accident.
Locals, railway and district authorities immediately launched the rescue operation. The army had also sent about 120 personnel from adjoining Allahabad and Kanpur to assist them.
A team of National Disaster Relief Force was also deployed. Two relief trains one each from Allahabad and Kanpur reached the spot and 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 5 lakh, while the seriously injured would get Rs one lakh and those with minor injuries would be given Rs 25,000.
Meanwhile, anxious relatives and friends of the passengers, many of them in tears, gathered at Howrah, Kanpur and other stations to enquire about the fate of their loved ones. However, they faced a difficult time as information was trickling in at a slow pace.
"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," Roy said.
Railway Board chairman Vinay Mittal rushed to the accident site along with the board's Member (Mechanical) and Member (Electrical) as well as other senior railway officials from the North Central Railways (NCR) headquarters.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who recently resigned as the Railway Minister, was keeping a watch on the situation, Roy said, adding, "She has also spoken to me." Eyewitnesses said that the driver of the train was among those injured in the mishap.
Traffic disrupted
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.
Trains running on the down route are now being run via Lucknow, while those on the Up route are being diverted through Unchahar.
Probe
General Manager, North Central Railway, H C Joshi said that the accident the worst this year would be probed by the Commissioner of Railway Safety. Details on when the report would be published were not forthcoming.
Helpline woes
Relatives of passengers aboard the Kalka Mail said they could not obtain information about their loved ones from the helpline set up at the Howrah railway station.
"I spoke to my father at 2 p.m. and he said he was fine. But his voice was getting husky and he could not speak properly. I am very tense... I and my brother-in-law are waiting here to board the relief train," said Raju Maity, whose father Dipak Maity was aboard the train.
"The helpline desk people don't have any information about the injured and the dead. Why, then, have they opened such a useless helpline desk?" asked Rajat Guha, who was inquiring about his father-in-law.
"My sister Mousumi along with her husband and two kids were in the S4 coach. We have been unable to contact her since the accident occurred." said a weeping Supriya Ghosh. Relief trains left Howrah and Delhi with the relatives at 7.30 pm.
Uttar Pradesh CM Mayawati announced a compensation of Rs 1 lakh each to the kin of those who died,
Rs 50,000 to those seriously injured and Rs 25,000 for those suffering minor injuries.
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