52 escape with injuries as train derails in India
The Police said that no fewer than 52 people were injured Thursday when a passenger train derailed in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh, the latest accident involving the country’s rail network.
The police said seven coaches of the Mahakaushal Express, which was travelling to New Delhi, came off the tracks in Mahoba district early on Thursday.
“Fifty-two people were injured and rushed to hospitals. Most of them received minor injuries and were discharged.
“The condition of two passengers is serious,” district police chief Gaurav Singh said by phone.
He said rail services on the route was suspended as disaster management teams conducted rescue operations.
Railways spokesman Anil Saxena, however, said only 25 were injured and a probe had been ordered to determine the exact cause of the accident.
Police did not rule out sabotage.
“There are signs of a fracture on a rail track, but it doesn’t appear to have been tinkered with. We are investigating the matter thoroughly,” Singh said.
India’s railways carry an estimated 20 million passengers daily and have a poor safety record.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau, more than 25,000 people have been killed in rail accidents each year since 2010.
In November, 149 people were killed when a passenger train derailed, also in Uttar Pradesh.
It was the deadliest train accident in the country in the past five years.
In January, 39 passengers were killed in a similar accident in south India.
dpa/NAN
