Six coaches of a passenger train derailed in northern India on Saturday, killing 23 people and injuring at least 81, officials said.
Two of the coaches telescoped into each other, while four others toppled over after going off the track, said Arvind Kumar, a top official in Uttar Pradesh, the state where the devastating derailment took place.
Local television channels showed chaotic scenes at the crash site, with rescuers trying to find the injured amid crowds of people gathered around overturned carriages.
Six coaches of a passenger train derailed in northern India on Saturday, killing 23 people and injuring at least 81, officials said
Two of the coaches telescoped into each other, while four others toppled over after going off the track, said Arvind Kumar, a top official in Uttar Pradesh, the state where the devastating derailment took place
‘We are struggling to pull out the injured, and are waiting for gas cutters to arrive. It’s too dark to launch a full fledged search operation, but our teams are trying their best,’ said Ajay Pandey, a senior police officer at the site.
The national authorities have sent disaster teams to help.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent a message on Twitter saying he was pained by the derailment of the Utkal Express, offering condolences to families of those killed and wishing a speedy recovery to the injured.
Neeraj Sharma, a railway spokesman, said the incident occurred near the small town of Khatauli.
Local television channels showed chaotic scenes at the crash site, with rescuers trying to find the injured amid crowds of people gathered around overturned carriages
Neeraj Sharma, a railway spokesman, said the incident occurred near the small town of Khatauli
The cause of the derailment was not immediately known, Sharma said.
The Kalinga-Utkal Express connects the Hindu holy city of Haridwar with the temple town of Puri, in the eastern state of Orissa.
The injured were taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors described their condition as stable.
Train crashes are frequent in India, which has the world’s fourth biggest rail network.
The Kalinga-Utkal Express connects the Hindu holy city of Haridwar with the temple town of Puri, in the eastern state of Orissa
Poor investment in past decades in the vast network and rising demand means overcrowded trains are running on creaking infrastructure.
Saturday’s accident is at least the fourth major passenger train derailment this year and the third in Uttar Pradesh in 2017.
A crash in November in Uttar Pradesh killed 150 people.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent a message on Twitter saying he was pained by the derailment of the Utkal Express, offering condolences to families of those killed and wishing a speedy recovery to the injured