Over 120 killed, 200 injured as Indore-Patna Express derails near Kanpur

The Indore-Patna Express derailed near Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, on Sunday morning, killing over 120 people and injuring more than 200 people, 76 of them seriously, in what could be the worst railway accident since the new railway minister Suresh Prabhu took charge.

Railway minister Suresh Prabhu announced Rs3.5 lakh exgratia for those killed. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also announced ex gratia of Rs2 lakh for the next of kin of those killed, and Rs50,000 for those seriously injured.

The prime minister said the ex gracia relief of Rs2 lakh for the next of kin of those killed, and Rs50,000 for those seriously injured in the rail accident will come from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF). This is over and above any assistance announced by the Railways.

Reports said 14 coaches of the Indore-Patna Express derailed near Pukhraya in Kanpur Dehat district in the early hours today.

Four coaches of the train - S1, S2, S3, S4 - were badly damaged in the mishap that took place at around 3 am. Most of the passengers were jolted out of their sleep to find themselves among mangled remains of the bogies.

Rescue work took more time as th3e accident occurred in the early hours of the day.

Policy sources said over 150 injured people have been rushed to nearby hospitals in the area. All hospitals have been asked to be alert. More than 30 ambulances have been pressed into service.

A team of Army doctors and rescue officials have arrived at the spot. 250 police officials are also involved in carrying out the rescue and relief operations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the loss of lives in the train tragedy. ''Anguished beyond words on the loss of lives due to the derailing of the Patna - Indore express. My thoughts are with the bereaved families,'' he said in a tweet.

Railways minister Suresh Prabhu has ordered a probe into the train tragedy and announced ex-gratia for the families of the victims. Prabhu said the Commissioner of Railway Safety will probe the reasons behind the derailment. ''All rescue and relief work is on to deal with the unfortunate accident. All medical and other help rushed. Inquiry ordered. Situation monitored closely,'' Prabhu said.

Minister of state for railways Manoj Sinha along with four senior railway officials have rushed to the accident spot.

MoS railway Rajen Gohain said a fault in the tracks may have led to the derailment. ''We haven't seen an incident like this in Indian Railways for a long time because we have taken a lot of safety measures.

Earlier these kinds of accidents used to happen because of the negligence of the driver but despite taking all safety measures this tragic incident took place. This is a cause of concern and we are investigating the reasons behind it. ''There must be a fault in the track as 14 bogeys have derailed and this happened despite regular checking of the tracks,'' he said.