[caption id="attachment_84633" align="alignnone" width="300"]
Rescue and relief works in progress after the Indore-Patna express derailed near Kanpur Dehat on Sunday morning. [/caption]
Kanpur, November 20 : More than 100 people were killed and around 150 injured when 14 coaches of the Indore-Patna Express derailed near the city of Kanpur before dawn on Sunday, officials said.
The horrific disaster took place when the Patna-bound train's coaches ran off the rails just after 3 a.m. near Pukhrayan station, about 60 km from Kanpur city, railway and police officials said.
Uttar Pradesh Inspector General of Police Prabhakar Chowdhary told IANS that the number of dead had crossed the 100 mark and that the toll could rise further considerably.
The passengers were asleep when the disaster struck, taking everyone unawares. The first to derail were the S1 and S2 coaches, which suffered the maximum damage.
Most of the dead were crushed to death, an official of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) told IANS. Some of the injured were in critical condition.
NDRF spokesperson Krishna Kumar said: "Most bodies which have been taken out are beyond recognition as they are badly crushed."
A passenger who survived told journalists that the train stopped a couple of moments after 3 a.m. for unexplained reasons.
"It then suddenly picked up speed," the man said. "And then I got an eerie feeling that the train was rolling down a valley.
"By the time I realized what had happened, some 20-25 people in my coach had been killed. There was a six-year-old girl who was literally cut into two pieces," said the terrified man.
It was the worst train accident in the country after the May 2010 disaster in West Bengal involving Gyaneshwari Express that killed some 170 people.
"We were sleeping and the train suddenly derailed," said Ruby Gupta, who was going from Indore to Mhow to attend a wedding. "My father is nowhere to be seen since then. Some people are telling me to look for him in the hospital. I just need my father back."
Another dazed survivor said: "I was awake when the train derailed. There was a loud noise and then pandemonium broke out. I thought I was dreaming. My wife and children are fortunately safe... We are very scared."
Survivors said the first to reach the semi-rural site were villagers. The government's rescue and relief teams came after day broke.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a host of VIPs mourned the deaths. Modi announced ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the next of kin of those killed and Rs. 50,000 for the seriously injured.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and the Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, where the train originated, also announced financial compensation to the dead and the injured. Soldiers and NDRF teams frantically cut through the mangled coaches to pull out bodies and the injured. Thousands of people crowded the site and tried to offer help.
The railways used heavy machinery to separate the coaches, some of which had rolled over one another.
Some passengers complained that there had been unexplained noises in the S1 coach but the train staff did not pay heed.
Prabhu ordered an inquiry, said necessary assistance was provided to the victims and vowed to take "strictest possible action" against the guilty.
Kanpur MP and BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi said he suspected foul play.
Later, after noon, a special train left from the accident site for Patna with the passengers who survived the disaster.
At the Patna railway station, where hundreds gathered, one man, looking fatigued, complained that he was constantly ringing up his friend who was on the train but no one was answering the telephone.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday announced Rs 5 lakh compensation each for families of those killed in the train accident near Kanpur early on Sunday morning.
"Akhilesh Yadav announces ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the deceased in train accident; Rs 50,000 for serious injury; Rs 25,000 for injured," the Chief Minister's Office tweeted.
At least 96 people were killed and over 150 injured when 14 coaches of the Patna-Indore Express derailed around 3.10 a.m. near the industrial city of Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh near Pukhraya station.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday announced Rs 2 lakh to family members of those killed in the train disaster near Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh.
He also announced Rs 50,000 to each of the seriously injured.
Chouhan later left for the accident site where 14 coaches of the Indore-Patna Express derailed before dawn.
Senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi on Sunday called for a probe into the derailment of 14 coaches of the Indore-Patna Express near Kanpur city, and suspected foul play behind the tragedy.
"The Railway Ministry should probe the matter soon whether track was broken or it is a plot against the central government," the Bharatiya Janata Party's former president and member of parliament from Kanpur told reports.
The disaster took place when the Patna-bound train's coaches derailed a little after 3 a.m. near Pukhraya station, about 60 km from Kanpur, railway and police officials said.
The passengers were asleep when the disaster struck, taking everyone unawares. The first to derail were the S1 and S2 coaches, which suffered maximum damage, followed by 12 other coaches.
The officials said security personnel and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams were cutting through badly mangled coaches to pull out bodies and the injured.
Within an hour, thousands of people from neighbouring villagers rushed to the site and helped out the injured and survivors.
About 100 people were killed and more than 150 injured in the accident.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday expressed grief after 14 coaches of the Patna-Indore express derailed near Kanpur on Sunday, in which at least 45 people died.
"Prayers with those injured in the tragic train accident. I've spoken to (Railway Minister) Suresh Prabhu, who is personally monitoring the situation closely," Modi said in a tweet.
"PM has asked the Railway Minister (Suresh Prabhu) to closely monitor the situation and ensure speedy relief and assistance at the spot," the Prime Minister's Office said in another tweet.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Sunday expressed grief over loss of lives in the train accident near Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh and urged the railways to "undertake a thorough probe into the reasons that caused this enormous tragedy".
Party Vice President Rahul Gandhi also expressed his condolences to the bereaved families.
"Words can't describe the pain of those who lost their loved ones and entire country stands in solidarity with them to share this unbearable sorrow," Sonia Gandhi said.
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Sunday mourned the loss of lives in the Indore-Patna Express train accident near Kanpur city of Uttar Pradesh, which has left 96 persons dead.
"I am deeply saddened to know that several people have been killed and over 150 injured today (Sunday) when some coaches of the Indore-Patna Express train derailed near Kanpur," Mahajan said in a statement.
"I convey my heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased and wish for speedy recovery of those injured," the Speaker said.
