100 injured as Kaifiyat Express derails in UP

Tribune News Service

Lucknow, August 23

At least 100 passengers of Delhi-bound 12225 Kaifiyat Express were injured when the engine and five bogies derailed at Achhalda in Aurraiya district after the train rammed into a dumper.

The railways however put the number of wounded at 25 people and said that the dumper did not belong to them.

Most of the injuries occurred in one bogie that overturned, said Principal Secretary Home Arvind Kumar.

Superintendent of Police, Auraiya, Sanjay Tyagi said 10 bogies of the train derailed of which one overturned leading to injuries to 100 passengers of which four with serious injuries were rushed to Saifai and Etawah hospitals.

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Of the four critically injured in the accident, two have been referred to Etawah and another two to Saifai, Kumar said.

The accident has disrupted traffic on both ‘up’ and ‘down’ lines of the busy Delhi-Howrah route. Dozens of trains have been re-routed, including Rajdhanis coming from Bhubaneswar and Ranchi. Many trains, including the Gomti Express, have been cancelled.

The accident that occurred at 2.40 am near Railway Gate Number 14 in Achhalda between Kanpur and Etawah railway station shook people out of sleep. This comes under North-Central Railways headquartered at Allahabad.

According to Home Secretary Anand Swaroop, an NDRF team has been rushed from Lucknow for rescue and relief operations.

A spokesman for NCR said rescue operations have been concluded and all injured were sent to hospitals nearby.

Additional forces and ambulance were rushed to the spot from Auraiya, Etawah and Kannauj while NDRF team was dispatched from Lucknow to provide succour to the passengers.

The Principal Secretary, Home, said the rescue work had been completed and all passengers moved to Achhalda railway station. A rescue train is arriving to take them to their destination of Delhi, he said.

Some of the injured were discharged from hospitals after first aid, the SP said, adding that there is no report of any casualty so far.

While an inquiry is yet to be ordered, a dumper loaded with ‘gitti’ suddenly appeared on the track, causing the accident. The loco pilot also received injuries.

The accident comes barely three days after the ghastly Utkal Express accident in Muzaffarnagar that killed 22 and injured 203.

Action was immediately taken in that incident and four engineers were suspended and the Northern Railways Chief Track Engineer; DRM Delhi; GM, Northern Railways; and Member (Engineering) Railway Board were sent on leave.

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