Toll mounts to 143 in train derailment

Pukhrayan (UP), Nov 21: The death toll mounted to 143 in Indore-Patna Express derailment here in Kanpur rural area, as rescue workers wrapped up their operation this morning after efforts continued overnight to pull out the trapped passengers from the mangled bogies.

All the 14 derailed coaches of the Patna-bound train 19321 have been removed from the tracks.

"142 bodies have been found so far, out of which 110 have been identified," according to IG (Kanpur range) Zaki Ahmad.

While 120 bodies were pulled out till last night, some others were found as rescuers later cleared the wreckage. 97 bodies have been handed over to relatives, he said.

Nearly 200 were injured in the worst train accident in recent years which took place just a little after 0300 hrs yesterday.

Coaches S1 and S2 had telescoped into each other and most of the casualties were feared to have been in these two compartments. S3 and S4 coaches also suffered severe damage while an AC III tier coach was also affected but casualties in it were not heavy.

Railway personnel assisted by army, NDRF and state police carried out the search and rescue operation overnight under floodlights. Most of the bodies were taken to Mati mortuary in Kanpur rural.

The victims were mostly from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar. 76 passengers were seriously injured in the derailment, Ahmad said. 150 others received minor injuries in the mishap.

Officials had said that prima facie the cause of the accident could be due to track fracture.

A high-level probe had been ordered by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu. With several passengers feared trapped, rescue personnel had employed cold cutters to break open the compartments.

UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has announced compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the kin of each of the dead in the accident, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi sanctioned Rs 2 lakh. On his part, the Railway Minister enhanced the ex-gratia grant from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 3.5 lakh to the families of the dead.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced Rs 2 lakh for kin of each of the deceased.

Railways have made available the following helpline numbers -- Indore-07411072, Ujjain- 07342560906, Ratlam- 074121072, Orai-051621072, Jhansi- 05101072, Pokhraya- 05113270239.

North Central Railway General Manager Arun Srivastava had said yesterday that traffic on Kanpur-Jhansi section will be opened in 36 hours. Four trains were cancelled and fourteen diverted after the derailment disrupted traffic on the route.