Kanpur, Patna-Indore Express Accident: Search Ops Off; 145 Killed

By Monday morning, they had searched the last of the 14 wrecked cars, finding several more bodies that took the death toll to at least 127, Indian broadcaster NDTV quoted police Director-General Daljeet Chaudhary as saying.

An FIR has been registered in the tragic Indore-Kanpur Express train derailment, in which over 140 have been killed and more than 180 injured.

Fourteen coaches were thrown off track at Pukhrayan, a town around 60 km from Kanpur, when the train was midway in its 27-hour journey between Indore and Patna. Passengers were jolted in their sleep when 14 carriages of the train derailed at about 3am local time on Sunday, 20 November.

Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha and a host of top railways officials visited the site and supervised rescue and relief operations.

It occurred near Kanpur city, a major railway junction and a key link in India’s rail network for connecting the eastern and western parts of the country.

With rescue teams still looking for victims amid the wreckage, the toll from the derailment could rise to become India’s worst rail tragedy in this century. Inspector General (Kanpur range) Zaki Ahmad said, “142 bodies have been found so far, out of which 110 have been identified”.

The cause of the derailment was not known immediately. “I fell from my berth and a lot of luggage fell over me”, according to Ramchandra Tewari, one of the passengers who suffered a head injury.

A railways official said the tracks and electrical works were replaced, and a trial run was conducted for safety clearance.

Similarly, 10 seriously injured patients are admitted in Mati hospital and CHC Devipur of Kanpur Rural district, he said.

India’s President Narendra Modi tweeted, “Anguished beyond words at the loss of lives due to the derailing of the Patna-Indore express”. Train-related accidents are not entirely new to India as most of these are blamed on antiquated infrastructure established during the British era and poor maintenance.

“They are trying to lift the coach with the help of cranes, and check if there are any bodies”, said Indian Railways spokesman Anil Saxena said.

Trains are the popular mode of transport for millions of Indians and around 23 million passengers use India’s vast railway network every day.