Twenty-nine people were killed when two express trains passing each other derailed while crossing a railway bridge struck by flash floods in Harda district of Madhya Pradesh in the dead of night sending 17 bogies and one engine tumbling into a rain-swollen river. The twin derailment that occurred around 11.30 pm on Tuesday night involved the Varanasi-bound Kamayani Express from Mumbai, which derailed first, and the Mumbai-bound Janta Express originating from Patna that was coming from the opposite direction. Officials said that 25 people were injured and over 250 passengers have been rescued.
There were conflicting versions on the exact number of casualties in the accident that occurred between Khirkiya and Bhirangi stations on Khandwa-Itarsi sections, 160 km from Bhopal after the 500-metre rail tracks over a small bridge sank in sudden surge of water caused by heavy rain in the area. “29 bodies, including those of 13 men, 11 women and five children, have been recovered so far from the mishap site, about 160 km from Bhopal,” said MP Government spokesman Anupam Rajan.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, however, told Parliament that as per available information 12 passengers were killed. “The prima facie cause of the incident is stated to be ‘flash flood due to heavy rain’,” Prabhu told the Rajya Sabha amid the din by slogan-shouting Opposition members.
Prabhu, who along with Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha, had come to Bhopal to reach the accident site, could not move further due to heavy rain in Harda district. later, MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan met him at Noor-us-Sabah hotel in Bhopal and apprised him about relief and rescue operations. Chouhan said that as soon as information about the accident was received, State’s disaster relief teams, members of National Disaster Relief Force and a team of senior railway officers were rushed to the spot by 12.30 am. Chouhan said the State Government has decided to give relief of Rs2 lakh each to next of kin of deceased, Rs50,000 to seriously injured and Rs10,000 to other injured persons.
Expressing distress and pain over the loss of lives, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday announced an ex-gratia relief of Rs2 lakh for the kin of each of those killed in the twin train derailments in Madhya Pradesh. The ex-gratia relief was sanctioned from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund and will be in addition to the relief assistance already announced by the Railways, a PMO statement said.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said 25 passengers were killed in the mishap and 50 others injured.
Twelve bodies were found inside the derailed train bogies, he told reporters at the mishap site.
Passengers said they were thrown awake by the falling bogies which quickly filled with muddy water. “We felt the jerk instantly. When we opened the door and checked, there was water everywhere. In no time, the train tilted. And we all got trapped and were stuck for three hours,” a survivor said. “The water level on the track was almost waist-high,” said another survivor.
“Prima facie it appears that the cause behind the mishap was heavy rain that was never witnessed in Harda region in my recent memory. Due to it, base material under the tracks got washed out and the overhead contact of the engine got disconnected because of which the trains got stranded on the tracks over the bridge on Machak river,” the MP CM said.
The Railway Ministry has ordered an enquiry into the twin derailment and announced an enhanced ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the next of the kin of deceased.
Services of more than 50 trains were affected due to the mishap as many were diverted and short-terminated. The 500-metre rail track which caved in not among the vulnerable sections identified by the Railways during monsoon, a top Railway official said.
Railways undertake pre-monsoon preparation every year on vulnerable section as precautionary measure and the derailment spot was not among those identified sections, Chairman Railway Board AK Mital said in Delhi.
Blaming the sudden surge of water as possible cause of the derailment, Mital said, “One cannot rule out natural calamity and the flash flood caused extensive damage to the track which resulted in the derailment. The track was otherwise alright and two trains crossed the track just eight minutes before the incident.”