Fifteen persons were injured when 12 coaches of the Howrah-New Delhi Poorva Express derailed near Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh early on Saturday.
The train was going to New Delhi when the incident occurred near the Rooma railway station — about 20 km from here — in Kanpur Nagar district around 12.50 a.m. Four out of the 12 derailed Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches had overturned, North Central Railway public relations officer Amit Malviya said.
North Central Railway general manager Rajiv Chaudhary said an inquiry was ordered in this connection. It would be conducted by the Commissioner of Railway Safety, A.K. Jain.
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He said a special train with 900 passengers of the Poorva Express left for New Delhi around 5.45 a.m. while another train later with the remaining passengers.
The coaches that derailed are: S8, S9, B1-B5, A1, A2, HA1, pantry car and an SLR (seating cum luggage rake), according to a statement issued by the railways.
The district magistrate, senior superintendent of police and other senior officials reached the spot and supervised the rescue operation, officials said.
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Timely help
“The administration, police and the locals, who were the first responders, have done a wonderful job by rushing the victims to hospitals in a short span of time after a such a major accident,” an official of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) told reporters here.
Recounting the incident, a passenger said there was a loud sound and everyone fell off their seats. Another passenger said he got out of the window after the accident.
As many as 28 trains were diverted and 16 cancelled because of the derailment, the officials said.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed the officials to extend all possible help to those affected.
Kanpur District Magistrate Vijay Vishwas Pant said barring three people, others had been discharged from hospital. Sumit Kumar, 35, who sustained serious injuries was given a compensation of ₹25,000, according to a statement issued by the North Central Railway. Three others were provided ₹5,000 each.