OVER 100 passengers were killed and over 200 injured when 14 coaches of the Indore-Patna Express derailed near Pukhraya in Kanpur district, Uttar Pradesh on Sunday. Four coaches of the train—S1, S2, S3, S4—were badly damaged in the mishap that took place at around 3am about 100 km from Kanpur, at a time when most of the passengers were asleep.
The cause of the accident was not known immediately. Poor track maintenance including lack of proper fittings and ballast on the railway lines may be causes fracture on the tracks. This is the second derailment in two days as the four coaches of the Bhatinda-Jodhpur passenger train derailed yesterday at about 2 AM leaving a dozen passengers injured in Rajasthan’s Sriganganagar district.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the loss of lives in the train tragedy. Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu has ordered a probe into the train tragedy and announced ex-gratia for the families of the victims. Rs 3.5 lakh ex-gratia will be given for the families of those killed in the derailment and Rs 50,000 for those grievously injured. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav announced ex-gratia for the families of those killed in the mishap. While Rs 5 lakh each will be given for families of those killed in derailment, Rs 50,000 will be given for seriously injured and Rs 25,000 for those with minor injuries.
Helpline numbers released:
Railways has also released helpline numbers —
Indore: 07411072,
Ujjain: 07342560906,
Ratlam: 074121072,
Orai: 051621072,
Jhansi: 05101072,
Pokhraya: 05113270239.