Security personnel and rescue workers clear debris at the site of the tragedy on Friday. (Reuters)
Lucknow, March 20: At least 31 people died and 200 suffered injuries when a Varanasi- bound train jumped tracks this morning near Bachhrawan station, 55km south of Lucknow.
The Janata Express from Dehradun overshot the platform, where it was supposed to stop, around 9.15 am and hit a sand hump a few hundred metres away, railway spokesperson Anil Saxena said in Lucknow.
"Perhaps the driver could not apply the brakes properly," he said. A PTI report said some officials had suggested a possible brake failure. The railway ministry has ordered a probe.
Among the dead were at least two children and six women, Northern Railway general manager A.K. Puthiya said.
He added that the death toll could rise because a few bodies might still be trapped inside a mangled coach - being sliced open with gas cutters -and because a few of the injured were critical.
The injured are being treated in hospitals in Lucknow and Rae Bareli town, which is 45km from the site.
The engine and the two adjoining bogies turned turtle. One of these two bogies was an empty guard's compartment while the other was a packed general compartment where all the deaths occurred.
A few other coaches - all of them sleepers - too veered off the tracks and many of their occupants were injured.
Hundreds of local villagers helped railway officials and the Railway Protection Force in the rescue operations.
The state administration deputed 20 ambulance vans to ferry the injured to two Lucknow hospitals: King George's Medical University and the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences.
Many of the injured were heading home to Rae Bareli, Pratapgarh and Varanasi. They included several pilgrims who had been to Hardwar for a dip in the Ganga.
The railway ministry has announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the families of the dead, Rs 50,000 each for the seriously injured and Rs 20,000 for those with minor injuries. Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav has announced Rs 2 lakh each for the families of the dead and Rs 50,000 each for the injured.
The railways have made several helpline numbers operational at Bachhrawan (09794845621), Dehradun (0135-2624002), Lucknow (09794830973), Varanasi (9542-2503841), Pratapgarh (0534-2223830), Rae Bareli (0535-2211224, Hardwar (0134-226477) and Bareilly (0581-2258161) to provide information about the passengers. The Uttar Pradesh government has set up a toll-free helpline number: 1800-180-5145.
Sonia Gandhi, who represents Rae Bareli in the Lok Sabha, is expected to visit the injured in hospital.
According to PTI, a few residents shouted slogans against the administration and railway authorities, alleging the rescuers had taken too long to arrive. The accident disrupted traffic on the Lucknow-Varanasi section of Northern Railway.
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