74 injured, four critical, as Kafiyat Express derails in UP

As many as 74 passengers were injured as nine bogies of the Kafiyat Express derailed in UP's Auraiya district early today after dashing against a dumper carrying construction material for railway work, officials here said.

However, the railways said 25 persons were injured in the incident and that the dumper did not belong to them.

The train travelling from Azamgarh to Delhi collided with the dumper at around 2:50 am between Pata and Achhalda railway stations, a spokesperson for the North Central Railway (NCR) said.

Principal Secretary (Home) Arvind Kumar said 74 people were injured of which four received serious injuries and have been rushed to Saifai and Etawah hospitals.

Superintendent of Police, Auraiya, Sanjeev Tyagi also said that 74 passengers were injured in the incident.

Kafiyat Express met with an accident at an unmanned railway crossing because of a loader carrying sand for track work for dedicated freight corridor, Secretary, Home, Bhagwan Swarup said.

Rescue operations are over and passengers have been moved to Achalda railway station and rescue train in arriving to take them to Delhi.

This is the second train accident in Uttar Pradesh in five days. On Saturday, a passenger train derailed in Muzaffaragar district leaving over 22 dead and 156 others injured.

"An unauthorised dumper broke the railway fence and hit the engine of Kaifiyat Express causing derailment," the Railway Ministry said in a statement.

"There are no casualties but 25 persons have been injured," the statement said.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu tweeted, "A dumper hit the locomotive of the Kaifiyat Express, resulting in derailment.

Some passengers have received injuries and have been shifted to nearby hospitals".

He said that he was personally monitoring the situation and had directed senior officials to reach the site immediately.

Kaifiyat Express travels between Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi and the collision has impacted the train operations on the Delhi-Howrah route.

Five trains including Howrah-New Delhi Rajdhani have been diverted and seven trains including Kanpur-New Delhi Shatabdi express have been cancelled. Since both UP and DOWN lines are blocked, around 40 local trains were also being diverted.

On receiving information about the mishap, senior officials rushed to the accident site which comes under Acchalda police station, around 180 km from Lucknow.

Additional forces and ambulance were rushed to the spot from Auraiya, Etawah and Kannauj, while NDRF team was dispatched from Lucknow to provide support to the victims. A medical train and a relief train have been dispatched from Allahabad to the accident site.

A spokesman for NCR said rescue operations have been concluded and all injured were sent to hospitals nearby.

Additional forces and ambulance were rushed to the spot from Auraiya, Etawah and Kannauj while NDRF team was dispatched from Lucknow to provide succour to the victims.