Two passengers were killed and 20 injured when eight coaches of the Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express derailed near Gonda in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday.
A railway bulletin said in the wake of the accident, three trains were being run on diverted route. The diverted trains are 15707 Katihar-Amritsar Amrapali Express, 15603 Guwahati-Jammu Tawi Amarnath Express and 15910 Lalgarh-Dibrugarh Avadh Assam Express.
Gonda District Magistrate Neha Sharma, who reached the spot, said eight coaches of the train got derailed. He said the injured are being rushed to hospital and relief operations are on at the site.
A 40-member medical team and 15 ambulances are at the spot and more medical teams and ambulances are being rushed there, Relief Commissioner Kumar said.
Eyewitnesses said the loud noise of the coaches leaving the track and toppling over to the left was followed by loud cries of the passengers, especially children. The passengers started coming out of the emergency windows and doors of the tilted sleeper coaches, and some went back to pull out their belongings. In the AC coaches, passengers helped each other break the window panes and pull out those injured or stuck. Passengers had to wade through knee-deep water in the fields on either side of the track to reach the nearby approach road. Others, shocked by the accident or injured, sat on the track itself, waiting to be rescued. When police teams reached the spot, officials made announcements asking people to stay away from the damaged coaches.
The rescuers cordoned off the area and were seen entering the damaged coaches to ensure that no passenger was left behind. The district administration also arranged for buses to take the passengers to their respective places.
Senior railway and local administration officials reached the spot, about 150 km from Lucknow, to oversee rescue operations. Pathak said that currently their priority is to save lives of the injured and give them the best treatment.
“Train number 15904 Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express that left Wednesday night from Chandigarh derailed near Gonda Junction station between Motiganj and Jhilahi railway stations at around 2:37 pm on Thursday under the jurisdiction of North Eastern Railway (NER),” Sabyasachi De, Chief Public Relations Officer, Northeast Frontier Railway, said.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took cognisance of the incident and has directed local administration to provide assistance to the affected passengers. The Chief Minister has asked the officials to ensure proper medical treatment of the passengers injured in the accident.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said no casualties from his state were so far reported in the Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express derailment in Uttar Pradesh.
In the wake of the derailment, Congress demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw must take responsibility of the “massive lapses” and the Kavach anti-collision system should be installed expeditiously on all routes.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the derailment of Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express in Uttar Pradesh is yet another instance of how the Modi Government has “systematically jeopardised” rail safety. Kharge pointed out that the Commissioner of Railway Safety has stated that the accident was “waiting to happen”.
Trinamool Congress also blamed Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for the derailment of the Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express in Uttar Pradesh. While the party’s Rajya Sabha MP and national spokesperson Sushmita Dev said the railways, which serves as the primary mode of travel for millions, is no longer safe, TMC Krishnanagar MP Mahua Moitra commented that the railways appeared to have entered an “emergency room” phase after 10 years of the Narendra Modi Government.
