52 injured as six bogies of Mahakaushal Express derail

At least 52 passengers were injured, 10 of them seriously, as six bogies of the Jabalpur-Nizamuddin Mahakaushal Express derailed early today near Mahoba in Uttar Pradesh’s Bundelkhand region.

The incident took place between Mahoba and Kulpahad railway stations near Supa village when the last six bogies derailed, SP (Mahoba) Gaurav Singh said. The 10 seriously injured have been admitted to a private hospital in Mahoba, said Singh.

The SP said relief and rescue operations are on in full swing and two helpline numbers 05101072 and 051921072 have been activated for the help of passengers and their family members.

UP Minister for Health Siddharth Nath Singh, who rushed to the spot, announced a monetary assistance of ₹50,000 each to the seriously injured and ₹25,000 to those who suffered minor injuries, the SP said.

In Lucknow, ADG (Law and Order) Daljit Chaudhary said the incident took place around 2.20 am when eight bogies of the train derailed. Chaudhary said prima facie there was nothing suspicious but all aspects will be investigated as it is a serious issue, adding that railway officials and teams of ATS and NDRF are at the spot and investigations are on to ascertain the cause of the mishap.

The bogies which derailed comprised three AC and three general—HA1, A1, B1, B2, S1, GS2—and the guard coach. Earlier, the Chief Public Relations Officer, North Central Railway had said that around eight coaches from the rear side of the train have derailed.

Railways order inquiry into derailment

Railways have ordered an inquiry into the derailment which left 400 metres of track damaged. The mishap disrupted rail traffic on the route with services of 14 trains disrupted, railway officials said. The inquiry is to be conducted by a senior railway official and its report is expected to be submitted in 10 days, Railway Board member (Traffic) Mohd Jamshed told PTI. Asked whether it was an act of sabotage or any defect in the rolling stock led to the mishap, he said: "Nothing can be ruled out till the report is submitted."

On some recent cases involving security around rail tracks in different parts of the state, the ADG said investigations proved there was no terror link but all cases are being thoroughly probed with the help of experts.

The derailed coaches were all conventional ones, and were manufactured at the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai. Though a few coaches tumbled, they did not climb over each other as it happens in such cases, resulting in minimum damage. Continuing with the journey, the front portion of the train with 10 coaches left the accident site at 6.48 am. Before the derailment at 2.27 am, another train had passed over the same track about an hour ago, Jamshed said.

Of the injured passengers, one suffered serious injuries and was rushed to Jhansi hospital, while others were given first aid, he said. Railways has pressed 15 buses into service for carrying about 200 passengers, who were travelling in affected coaches, to Jhansi to resume their forward journey.

At least 17 helplines have been made operational at different stations en route to assist relatives of passengers travelling in the train.

Jamshed said the line is expected to be restored by midnight as the damaged section of the track has to be replaced.