Kalka Mail accident: 69 dead, rescue operation over

Mtoday news / PTI

New Delhi, July 11, 2011:  The devastating Kalka Mail accident has now claimed 69 lives. At least 150 passengers have been injured in the accident.

The rescue operation, has, meanwhile, ended. The rescue workers faced extreme difficulty in reaching the last coach of the New Delhi-Howrah Kalka Mail that derailed on Sunday.

Nearly hundred Armymen were pressed into service with medical supplies being rushed to the area.

 

The train was on its way to New Delhi from Howrah, with 1,200 passengers on board when 15 bogies of the train derailed near Malwan station in Uttar Pradesh’s Fatehpur district on Sunday.

Railway authorities said the train was travelling at a top speed of 108 kilometres per hour, when it derailed near Malwan railway station. HC Joshi, North Central Railway General Manager, said, "The exact cause of the derailment has not been ascertained as we are busy in rescue operations." He added a probe has been ordered into the accident.

A Special train carrying 165 passengers of New Delhi-Howrah Kalka Mail reached Delhi this morning. The rescue train departed from Malwan Railway Station last evening to bring survivors to the capital.

All the injured passengers were rushed to Kanpur hospital. Two relief trains, one from Kanpur and the other from Allahabad comprising of medical teams, cutting equipment, cranes, engineers were at Malwan to assist in the rescue operations. Due to the derailment, 13 trains were cancelled and 25 others diverted along the Allahabad-Kanpur section.

Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh expressed shock and instructed Minister of State (MoS), Railways, K H Munniyappa, to visit the accident site and provide all resources for the rescue operation.

An inquiry by the Commissioner of Railway Safety has been ordered into the derailment. Union Minister of State (MoS) for Railways, Mukul Roy, announced that the families of the dead would be paid an ex-gratia of Rs. 5 lakh, the seriously injured would receive Rs. 1 lakh each.

Railway Helpline Numbers:
New Delhi: 011-23342954 , 23341074
Allahabad: 0532-2407353, 2408128
Fatehpur: 05180-222025, 222026, 222436
Kanpur: 0512-2323015, 2323016, 2323018
Khurja: 05738-253084, 253085

Courtesy: NDTV