14 killed, 50 hurt in UP train accident

At least 14 people, including women, were killed and over 50 injured in a collision between two trains near Gorakhpur Cantonment railway station in Gorakhpur-Chapra section of North-Eastern Railway (NER).

The toll may go up as the condition of at least 12 injured is said to be critical. The accident occurred late on Tuesday night a few metres from Nanda Nagar level crossing in Gorakhpur, about 300 km from Lucknow. The injured were shifted to different hospitals in Gorakhpur. Relief and rescue operations were on in full swing while the tracks were cleared for movement of trains.

Eyewitnesses said a medical team from the nearby Indian Air Force (IAF) station was the first to reach the accident site and treated the injured passengers on the spot. Gas cutters had been used to bring the trapped passengers out of the mangled coaches.

Railway officials here said on Wednesday that the incident occurred when the Lucknow-bound Krishak Express rammed into the Barauni-bound train from the side when the two trains were changing tracks.

The officials said the locopilot of Krishak Express appeared to have overshot the signal which might have caused the mishap. Three coaches of the Barauni express train derailed as a result of the collision. An official said the Krishak Express locopilot might have applied the emergency brakes and as a result, the coaches derailed and collided with Barauni express.

“I was sitting on my berth when suddenly there was a huge noise. People sitting on the upper berths fell upon those sitting down. The coach had tilted to one side,” said Ved Prakash Upadhyaya, a resident of Gorakhpur, who was on his way to Siwan in Bihar in Barauni Express.

Upadhyaya, who was admitted to the district hospital in Gorakhpur, had fractured his leg and also received injuries on his face, chest and arms.

The impact of the collision was such that the Barauni express train coaches were not only derailed but also badly damaged. Since all the three coaches were general compartments, they were packed with passengers, most of whom were headed home in Bihar to celebrate Dasara and Eid.

NER chief public relations officer Alok Singh said the locopilot of the Krishak Express and his assistant have been suspended and a probe by the safety commissioner of railway had been ordered. Union Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda visited the spot.