India : On 21st Novemeber, at 3:10 am, fourteen coaches of the Indore-Patna Express had derailed at Pukhrayan in Kanpur Dehat district of Uttar Pradesh. Indore-Patna Express was packed with more than 2,000 people and running on 100 kmph speed, when suddenly the driver witnessed the overhead equipment shaking which led to the derailing of 14 coaches of the train. The coaches derailed in the pre-dawn hours as the Patna-bound train crossed Pukhraya in the Jhansi-Kanpur section.
Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha, who visited the accident site, told reporters that a fracture in the rails and jamming of wheels is suspected to have caused the accident. A little after 3 am, when most passengers were fast asleep, the Patna-bound train jumped the tracks. Two sleeper coaches, S1 and S2, telescoped into each other, trapping several people. Most of the passengers were travelling to eastern UP and Bihar.
This accident killed 120 people and injured over 180. The derailment caused 50 per cent of all accidents in the Indian railways which brought into the question the financial expenditure of railways maintenance and track renewal. While the railways claimed that around 1,200 people were on board, railway sources claimed that the number of passengers were much more that.
Latest Developments to control the damage:
- A special train has been arranged to take to Patna the passengers of the Indore-Patna Express
- 4,000 food packets, 2000 water bottles, 1500 cups of tea have been supplied free of cost till now to passengers.
- Railway Board special cell is coordinating all arrangements
- Medical and accident relief trains from Kanpur, Jhansi, Agra and Allahabad were rushed to the spot.
- Rescue personnel, including National Disaster Response Force, pulled out dozens of passengers.
Helpline Numbers
- Indore: 07411072
- Ujjain: 07342560906
- Ratlam: 074121072
- Orai: 051621072
- Jhansi: 05101072
- Pokhraya: 05113270239
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