India train accident kills 38 in Uttar Pradesh

ACHHRAWAN/ LUCKNOW: At least 38 persons were killed and around 150 others injured when the engine and two coaches of the Dehradun-Varanasi Janta Express derailed near Bachrawan railway station in UP’s Rae Bareli on Friday.
According to preliminary reports, the locomotive driver apparently overshot the signal and as a result, the engine and two adjoining coaches derailed, railway spokesperson Anil Saxena said in Delhi.
“The death toll has mounted to 38. While 34 people died in Rae Bareli, four were declared brought dead in Lucknow,” UP minister Manoj Kumar Pandey said.
King George Medical University at Lucknow released a list of the 38 people who died in the accident.
Union home minister Rajnath Singh and minister of state for railway Manoj Sinha visited the trauma centre at KGMU and met the injured.
Officials feared that the casualties could go up. Rescuers used gas cutters to rip apart the wreckage of a mangled a general compartment. Most of the casualties were from this coach, officials said.
“There could be more casualties in the mishap,” divisional commissioner, Lucknow, Mahesh Gupta said. The accident occurred around 9.30 am near Bachhrawan railway station, about 50 km from state capital, Lucknow.
“Four medical teams with doctors, paramedics, and first-aid kits were rushed to the site. A total of 40 ambulances were also rushed,” chief medical officer in Lucknow said.
The Railways announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the next of kin of those killed in the accident. While Rs 50,000 will be given to those injured seriously, Rs 20,000 will be given to people with minor injuries.
Railway sources said the driver apparently applied the brake but the train did not stop raising suspicions of the failure of the braking system.
As soon as the news of the accident spread, people from nearby villages rushed to the spot to help in rescue and relief operations.
The villagers helped in extricating passengers trapped in the mangled coaches of the train.
An eyewitness, who was travelling in the first bogey and was fortunate enough to jump at Bachrawan railway station where the train did not halt before the mishap, said he saw the driver and the guard frantically signalling from the doors.