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Two British tourists die in northern India train derailment Two British tourists die in northern India train derailment
(about 2 hours later)
Two British tourists have died in a train derailment in northern India, police said. Two British tourists were killed and several more injured when a train derailed in the north of India on Saturday.
Seven other passengers were also injured, at least one of them seriously injured, when two carriages of the Kalka to Shimla “toy train” derailed on Saturday. A group of 37 British tourists – mainly in their 60s – were travelling on a narrow gauge “toy train” that runs 60 miles through more than 100 tunnels and over dozens of viaducts to the historic hill resort of Shimla, in the foothills of the Himalayas.
They were among a group of 37 British tourists travelling on the five-carriage World Heritage-listed train. It was rounding a curve when the coaches derailed, said railway official Neeraj Sharma. Anil Saxena, spokesman for Indian Railways, said the accident took place at 12.55pm, about two miles beyond the station of Kalka and 15 minutes into the journey.
“Two coaches were derailed resulting in the deaths of two female passengers,” Saxena said. Three others suffered serious injuries, while five others were discharged after treatment for cuts, bruises or simple fractures.
A second official said the cause of the accident was still unclear.
“It might have been a technical problem. There is a possibility that a stone or a rock suddenly fell on the track, or animals came, leading to the derailment. There is an inquiry,” said Neeraj Sharma, a spokesman for the northern zone of India’s sprawling railway network.
Images broadcast on Indian TV networks showed carriages on a bend among thick vegetation on apparently flat land about 150 miles north of Delhi.
The injured, who included three Indian nationals, were taken to hospital near the city of Chandigarh.
Accidents occur frequently on Indian railways, which suffer from decades of under-investment and a shortage of trained staff.
Earlier on Saturday, nine coaches of a train derailed in southern India, killing at least two people and leaving several injured.
Despite ageing rolling stock, buckling tracks, wandering elephants and Maoist guerillas, Indian Railway’s 1.25 million employees still run 17,000 trains carrying up to 25 million people every day.
Raaja Bhasin, a Shimla-based historian who was guiding the tourists and travelling in the train, told the local Indian Express newspaper that the tragedy had taken “just a fraction of a second”.
“Two lost their lives and others narrowly survived. I had just taken a seat minutes before the accident. It was God’s grace I was seated at that moment otherwise I wouldn’t have been alive and talking to you today,” he said.
The train, which had been chartered by a UK-based travel company, was composed of four luxury coaches and a single locomotive.
Suresh Prabhu, India’s railway minister, has ordered an investigation into the accident.Suresh Prabhu, India’s railway minister, has ordered an investigation into the accident.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: “Following a train crash in Haryana, we are urgently looking into reports of British nationals affected and stand ready to provide consular support.” The Foreign Office said it was “urgently” looking into the reports of the accident.
The 60 mile (96km) narrow-gauge railway in the foothills of the Himalayas is known for its scenic views. A spokesman said: “Following a train crash in [the northern Indian state of] Haryana, we are urgently looking into reports of British nationals affected and stand ready to provide consular support.”
It was opened in 1903 to link Shimla, the summer capital used by the then British rulers of India, with the country’s northern plains. Shimla was the summer capital of the British Raj administrators in India, and remains a popular destination for tourists, both foreign and local.
It was the second rail accident to have happened in India on Saturday. Nine coaches of a train derailed in southern India, killing at least two people and leaving several injured. The Kalka to Shimla line is more than 100 years old.
Police and rescuers helped pull out dozens of passengers from the coaches, which fell onto their side near Gulbarga in Karnataka state after the train derailed at about 2:15am, Indian Railway spokesman Anil Saksena said.
The cause of the derailment was not immediately known.
India operates one of the world’s largest railway networks, carrying about 23 million passengers a day.
Safety standards on the massive state-run railway have been an ongoing concern amid a spate of accidents. Last month, two passenger trains derailed over a bridge in central India while crossing a track that was flooded by heavy monsoon rains, killing at least 24 people.