Kaifiyat Express derails in Auraiya, 81 injured
KANPUR: At least 81 people were injured when the Delhi-bound Kaifiyat Express derailed after hitting a dumper in Auraiya district early on Wednesday morning, four days after 23 people died in a similar accident in Muzaffarnagar.
Officials said the accident occurred at around 2.50 am when the train hit a sand-laden dumper which overturned at an unmanned level crossing between Pata and Achalda railway stations about 20 minutes before the train was to pass through.
Twelve passenger bogies of the train, the engine and the brake van derailed due to the impact of the collision. The injured passengers are being treated at RIMS in Saifai, Civil Hospital, Auraiya, Etawah district hospital and LLR Hospital in Kanpur. The railway gave Rs 15,000 each to the injured.
Railway officials said train traffic on Delhi-Howrah route had been badly affected as 12 trains were cancelled and 51 others were diverted.
Rescue operations ended at 8.15 am and the rail traffic is likely to be restored by Thursday morning, they said.
General manager, North Central Railway, MK Chauhan blamed the driver of the dumper for the mishap and said there was no error on the part of the railway or its employees.
“We will investigate the matter and take action against the company that hired the dumper and its driver,” he said after visiting the injured at hospitals in Auraiya. The dumper was hired by a contractor for dedicated freight corridor project on which the work is going on near the accident site.
Driver of the train SC Chauhan told officials that the train was running at a speed of 105 km/hr as he was getting green signals throughout.
“About 6 km from Pata railway station, the driver saw the dumper on the track and applied emergency brakes. Though the train slowed down, the engine still hit the dumper,” a railway official said. People from nearby villages were the first to reach the site and pulled out passengers from the train.
“I was sleeping outside my house when I heard a deafening sound. I thought a bomb had exploded. I just ran in the direction of the sound,” said Ram Naresh Yadav, a resident of Kurri village. “People inside the train were calling out for help,” he said.
IG, Kanpur range, Alok Singh said the injured were taken to hospitals in roadways buses which were quickly arranged. “Those who escaped unhurt were helped in getting on to other trains and buses to New Delhi,” he said. Additional director general of police (law and order) Anand Kumar said an inquiry would be ordered to find out how the dumper overturned on the tracks. On Saturday, Kalinga Utkal Express derailed near Khatauli in Muzaffarnagr killing 23 people .
DRM HURT IN MISHAP
Divisional railway manager (DRM), NCR, SK Pankaj on Wednesday took a car from Dibiyapur to reach the accident site but met an accident near Kanho railway crossing where his car overturned. Pankaj received minor injuries in the mishap.
SHATABDI AND 11 TRAINS CANCELLED
Train traffic on the HowrahDelhi route came to a grinding halt after the mishap. The New Delhi-bound Shatabdi Express was cancelled along with 11 other trains. The three Rajdhani Express and 48 other trains were diverted.