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Saturday, January 16, 2010 (12:35:33) |
| Tags : Uttar Pradesh, The Kalindi Express, Shram Shakti Express, Tundla railway station |
Three killed, 14 hurt as trains collide in Uttar Pradesh |
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Firozabad (Uttar Pradesh): At least three people were killed and 14 injured when two trains collided in Uttar Pradesh's Firozabad district on a foggy today morning, an official said. The Kalindi Express and the Shram Shakti Express collided on the Delhi-Howrah rail route near the Tundla railway station in Firozabad, some 350 km from state capital Lucknow.
"We have learnt that three passengers - two women and a child - of the Shram Shakti Express have been killed in the accident," Firozabad District Magistrate N.G. Ravi Kumar told media.
"Rescue operations have nearly been completed and the 14 injured are being treated at a hospital. Most of the injured are women," he said.
Though the exact cause of the accident is yet to be ascertained, Kumar said that "fog appears to be one of the factors".
Firozabad Senior Superintendent of police Raghuveer Lal told media: "According to our reports, the Kalindi Express dashed against the Shram Shakti Express near the Tundla railway station."
"Two rear coaches of the Shram Shakti Express have been badly damaged following the accident," he added.
Agra Divisional Railway Manager Devesh Mishra said that the women's coach and the guard's cabin had been hit.
Train traffic on the route was disrupted for two hours.
"It looks like the visibility was too low because of the heavy fog and the driver could not see," Mishra told media.
People complained of "delayed relief operations" and said that the rescue work was started by the passengers themselves.
"The railway authorities and other officials arrived more than an hour after the accident for rescue and relief operations," Prashant Kumar, a resident of Kanpur who was travelling on the Shram Shakti Express, told reporters in Firozabad.
Said Aman Jain, another passenger of the Shram Shakti Express: "Passengers of the trains helped rescue a large number of people trapped in the last coach of the Shram Shakti Express."
R.D. Vajapayee, chief public relations officer (CPRO) of North Central Railway, told reporters in Allahabad that the railway ministry has taken the accident "very seriously" and a Commissioner Railway Safety-level inquiry would be conducted into the incident.
Two train accidents had taken place on Jan 2 in the state's Kanpur and Etawah districts.
"If a railway accident occurs in such a short span of time, it's really unfortunate and requires an extensive probe," Vajapayee said referring to the two train accidents on Jan 2.
On Jan 2, 11 people were killed when the Gorakhdham Express collided with the stationary Prayagraj Express in Kanpur. In a separate accident, the Lichchavi Express rammed into the Magadh Express in Etawah, but there were no casualties. Both accidents occurred in thick fog.(IANS) |
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