Express train derails; three dead, 33 injured

Lucknow: Three passengers were killed and 33 injured when eight coaches of the Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express derailed near Gonda in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, an official said.

Ambulances and medical teams were rushed to the spot between Motiganj and Jhilahi railway stations, about 150 km from the state capital, as news of the derailment came in.

The loco pilot heard the “sound of a blast” before the derailment, an official told reporters. But he did not elaborate.

There was confusion initially over the death toll.

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak said that four people were killed, with district magistrate Neha Sharma too giving out the same number to the media. But about five hours after the 2.35 pm accident, the authorities revised the figures with Sharma saying there was one death.

Prima facie, when teams reached the spot people were laying scattered there in bad shape due to which confusion prevailed,” she said.

One more passenger died later in the evening while being taken to Lucknow for medical treatment, UP Relief Commissioner G S Naveen said. Later, one more unidentified person died, the relief commissioner’s office said.

The dead were identified as Saroj Kumar Singh (31), a resident of Araria in Bihar, Rahul (38) from Chandigarh and one unidentified person, a list released by the Relief Commissioner’s office later in the night said.

As per the latest list, six persons sustained serious injuries in the incident while 26 sustained minor injuries.

Bad weather affected the rescue operation for a while, but police and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) completed the task.

Even before the relief teams arrived, passengers in the Assam-bound train had begun pouring out of the toppled coaches.

Some of them went back again to pull out their luggage. They then sat near the tracks, waiting as rescuers arrived.

“For a moment the coach was filled with dust and it was all dark. I don’t remember what happened in the next few seconds. I only remember the cries and that a passenger pulled my hand, and helped me get out of the window,” Sandeep Kumar recalled.