7 killed, 40 injured as train derails in UP

Seven people, including two children and a woman, were killed and 40 others injured, when Delhi bound New Farakka Express derailed near Harchandpur railway station in Uttar Pradesh's Raebareli district on Wednesday morning.

According to the railway sources, the mishap occurred, when the train was approaching the outer signal of the station. Seven bogies and the engine of the train, that was on way to Delhi from Malda Town in West Bengal, were derailed, sources added.

Sanjay Khatri, district magistrate of Raebareli confirmed six deaths. He said that the injured were rushed to the district hospital. The mishap occurred around six in the morning, he added.

All the dead were from Bihar, officials said adding that the coach reserved for the women and differently abled was the worst hit.

Relief operations were in full swing and teams of National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) had reached the spot, officials said adding that a team of doctors had also reached the accident site.

Railways have announced an ex-gratia relief of Rs. five lakh while UP government has announced relief of Rs. two lakh each to the next of the kin of the deceased.

UP police chief O.P.Singh ruled out sabotage but said that a team of Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) has also been rushed to the spot to join the investigation.

Railway officials said that an inquiry would be launched into the mishap to ascertain the cause of the mishap.

Movement of trains on the route has come to a complete halt, sources said adding that the railway engineers were trying to remove the derailed bogies from the tracks to restore movement of trains.

Several long-distance trains have been diverted, the officials said adding that normal traffic was likely to resume on the tracks by Thursday.

Goyal orders high-level probe in train accident

Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday ordered a high-level probe into the railway accident which took place in Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh.

The investigation related to the derailment will be conducted by chief commissioner, railway safety, Shailesh Pathak, who also probed the derailment of the Puri-Haridwar Utkal Express last year in which 22 people were killed.

Goyal announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the kin of the dead, Rs 1 lakh for the injured and Rs 50,000 for those with minor injuries.

Ashwani Lohani, chairman of the railway board, also visited the accident site and hospitals where the injured have been admitted.

Negligence caused train derailment; official suspended

Negligence was the reason behind the derailment of New Farakka Express train in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday.

According to the railway sources, Ashish Kumar, the assistant station master of Harchandpur station, was suspended on charges of dereliction in duty.

Sources said that a preliminary probe indicated that the train was given the green signal, when it approached the station, but its tracks were not changed and it moved on loop line resulting in the derailment.

Emergency helpline numbers set up at Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction:

BSNL-05412-254145 Railway-027-73677. Emergency helpline numbers set up at Patna Station - BSNL-0612-2202290, 0612-2202291, 0612-220229.