Kaifiyat Express derailment: 74 hurt after train hits truck in UP

Lucknow: Four days after the Utkal Express derailed in Muzaffarnagar, the Kaifiyat Express derailed in Auraiyya district of Uttar Pradesh in the wee hours of Wednesday, injuring 74 passengers, of whom four are reortedly in critical condition.  

The engine and nine coaches of the Kaifiyat Express, which runs between Azamgarh and New Delhi, derailed at 2.50 am between Achlada and Pata village when the train rammed into a dumper. The train was running at 105 kms per hour when the collision took place.

Nearly 74 people have been injured of whom 57 have been admitted to various hospitals, including the Sefai PG Medical College, with serious injuries. The condition of four passengers is said to be critical. Locals rushed to help passengers out of the derailed bogies, and soon a medical relief train reached the accident site.

Additional forces and ambulance were also rushed to the spot from Auraiyya, Etawah and Kannauj, while a team of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was dispatched from Lucknow to provide support to the victims. A rescue train was also sent to take the stranded passengers to Delhi.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has directed the concerned officials to ensure proper treatment of the injured passengers.

Railway spokesperson Anil Saxena said the train was travelling from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh to Delhi when it collided with a dumper around 2.50 am between Pata and Achhalda railway stations. One of the bogies of the train overturned, which impacted the other bogies, causing their derailment.

Officials said that work for a dedicated freight corridor was in progress at the site at the time of the accident. And that the dumper had apparently overturned while crossing the track through an unnamed crossing.

Mr Saxena said various departments will conduct their own inquiries. “Since it was a dumper which collided with the train due to trespassing, the local police would be investigating the matter and booking the dumper owner and the driver. Similarly, Railways has also initiated its inquiry to see if there were any lapses on our part,” he added.

UP principal secretary (home) Arvind Kumar said that rescue operations concluded on Wednesday morning. Meanwhile, at least seven trains were cancelled and 40 were diverted due to the accident.

All passenger trains scheduled to run on Kanpur-Tundla section have been cancelled and trains that have been diverted include the Howrah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express.  

This is the second rail accident in Uttar Pradesh since last Saturday when Utkal Express derailed in Muzaffarnagar district, killing 22 people and injuring 156.