52 injured as seven bogies of Mahakaushal Express derail in UP

Shahira Naim

Tribune News Service

Lucknow, March 30

At least 52 persons were injured when seven bogies of the Nizamuddin-bound Jabalpur-Nizamuddin Mahakaushal Express (12189) derailed early on Thursday near Kulpahad station in Mahoba district some 262 km from Lucknow.

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No casualties were reported in the incident that took place at around 2.05 am.

Of the 52 injured, two were rushed to Jhansi Medical College Hospital after they suffered fractures, tehsildar Kulpahad Arun Kumar, who was at the site of derailment, said.

Nine of the injured were admitted to the Mahoba district hospital while the remaining had been discharged after first aid at the Kulpahad Primary Health Centre, he added.

The bogies which derailed comprised four AC and three general.

“It is a miracle that despite so many coaches going off the track, there has been no casualties and injures are also minor in nature”, said Kumar.

He said that most of the passengers with minor injuries have already left for their onward journey by buses.

Mahoba district magistrate Ajay Kumar Singh, Superintendent of Police Gaurav Singh and a railway technical team led by the North Central Railway general manager MC Chauhan have reached the spot to investigate the matter and provide relief to the injured.

CM Yogi Adityanath has rushed Health Minister Shambhu Nath Singh along with senior official Arun Kumar to the spot by chopper to supervise the relief operation.

The state government has announced a compensation of Rs 50,000 for the seriously injured and Rs 25,000 for those with minor injuries.

Meanwhile, traffic on the track has come to a halt and clearing the tracks is the first priority of the district and railway administrations.

ADG Law and Order Daljeet Chaudhury confirmed that a team of the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) had reached the site to rule out the possibility of a terrorist angle.

He said that prima facie there was no evidence whatsoever to suggest that this was the handiwork of terrorists.

“However, just to be doubly sure an ATS team had been sent to the accident site”, said ADG Law and Order.

Two helpline numbers — 05101072 and 051921072 — have been activated for the help of passengers and their family members.