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India train derailment kills at least 120 and injures 200 near Kanpur | |
(about 7 hours later) | |
At least 120 people have been killed and more than 200 injured after a passenger train derailed in northern India. | |
Fourteen carriages of the Indore-Patna Express train came off the tracks in a remote area near Pukhrayan, Kanpur at around 3:10am local time. | Fourteen carriages of the Indore-Patna Express train came off the tracks in a remote area near Pukhrayan, Kanpur at around 3:10am local time. |
Television footage showed rescue workers using gas-powered cutting equipment to free trapped survivors and bodies from the overturned coaches and cranes were deployed to lift coaches from the tracks. | Television footage showed rescue workers using gas-powered cutting equipment to free trapped survivors and bodies from the overturned coaches and cranes were deployed to lift coaches from the tracks. |
Some of the coaches had crumpled during the crash, trapping hundreds of people inside. | Some of the coaches had crumpled during the crash, trapping hundreds of people inside. |
Daljeet Chaudhary, a director-general of police, said: "There are people trapped inside. We are being very careful in using the gas cutters." | |
He said the death toll would more than likely rise as rescue workers have not yet managed to gain access to the most damaged coaches. | |
Medical teams provided first aid near the site of the crash, while those seriously injured were taken to hospitals near Kanpur. | Medical teams provided first aid near the site of the crash, while those seriously injured were taken to hospitals near Kanpur. |
"We have been able to pull out 24 people so far, out of which five were found to be alive," said Brigadier A Chhibbar, who is leading the army's rescue operations. | |
"We will carry on day and night, till there is any inkling of even a single person being pulled alive." | |
Passenger Satish Kumar said the train was travelling at normal speed before stopping suddenly: "It restarted, and then we heard a crash. When we came out of the train, we saw a few coaches had derailed.” | Passenger Satish Kumar said the train was travelling at normal speed before stopping suddenly: "It restarted, and then we heard a crash. When we came out of the train, we saw a few coaches had derailed.” |
"We woke up to a great thud this morning. It was pitch dark and the noise was deafening," one passenger told reporters at the scene. | "We woke up to a great thud this morning. It was pitch dark and the noise was deafening," one passenger told reporters at the scene. |
According to local news site NDTV the train had been full of families, some of them travelling home for weddings. | According to local news site NDTV the train had been full of families, some of them travelling home for weddings. |
Twenty-year-old Ruby Gupta had been travelling on the train for her wedding on 1 December. She reportedly fractured her arm in the crash and her father is still missing. | Twenty-year-old Ruby Gupta had been travelling on the train for her wedding on 1 December. She reportedly fractured her arm in the crash and her father is still missing. |
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his concern about the incident over twitter. | Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his concern about the incident over twitter. |
“Anguished beyond words on the loss of lives due to the derailing of the Patna-Indore express. My thoughts are with the bereaved families." | “Anguished beyond words on the loss of lives due to the derailing of the Patna-Indore express. My thoughts are with the bereaved families." |
The Government minister for railways Suresh Prabhu said he was “rushing to the accident site to personally monitor the situation”. | |
In a tweet he said the government would investigate what caused the derailment and announced compensation for the victims. | In a tweet he said the government would investigate what caused the derailment and announced compensation for the victims. |
Kanpur is a major railway junction and hundreds of trains pass through it every day. Several trains using the line have been diverted to other routes, according to a spokesman for Indian Railways. | Kanpur is a major railway junction and hundreds of trains pass through it every day. Several trains using the line have been diverted to other routes, according to a spokesman for Indian Railways. |
Accidents are relatively common on India's rail network, which is one of the world's largest – providing transport for around 23 million passengers each day – but lacks modern signalling and communication systems. | |
Sunday's train crash is the worst disaster since 2010, when a passenger train crashed into a freight train in the eastern state of West Bengal, killing 146 and injuring more than 200. | |
Additional reporting by agencies | Additional reporting by agencies |
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