Lucknow, Jan 2 (Inditop.com) At least 10 people were killed and 48 injured, many seriously, in three train accidents in Uttar Pradesh on a fog-hit Saturday morning, officials said.
The accidents took place in Kanpur, Etawah and Allahabad districts.
All the deaths occurred in the Kanpur accident where the Gorakhdham Express collided with the stationary Prayagraj Express near Panki railway station around 9 a.m., some 90 km from Lucknow.
Both Kanpur Deputy Inspector General B.P. Jogdand and railway officials told IANS that eight women and two men died in the horrific crash. Nineteen passengers suffered serious and 24 others simple injuries, the officials said.
“The injured have been admitted to hospitals in Kanpur,” Jogdand added.
Five of the dead were identified as Usha Rai, Urmila Rai, Krishna Kumari, Shivanand and Kaushalya Devi.
The impact of the collision badly damaged three coaches of the Prayagraj Express, which was headed for Allahabad from New Delhi. The Gorakhdham Express was running between New Delhi and Gorakhpur.
The death toll was also confirmed by railway officials in New Delhi.
In Etawah, the driver of Lichchavi Express was critically injured when the train rammed into the Magadh Express near Sarai Bhupat railway station, some 300 km from Lucknow.
“The driver has fractured both his legs. His condition is stated to be critical,” Government Railway Police (GRP) Inspector A.K. Singh told IANS on telephone from Etawah.
Both trains were headed for Bihar. The accident took place around 8.15 a.m.
The third accident, a minor one, took place in Allahabad, about 200 km from here. Four people received minor injuries when the Saryu Express collided with a railway maintenance trolley, officials said.
A high-level inquiry has been ordered to probe the Etawah and Kanpur accidents.
“It appears that both the accidents took place due to heavy fog. A high-level inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the exact reasons,” R.D. Vajapayee, chief public relations officer of North Central Railway, told reporters in Allahabad.
The Commissioner of Railway Safety will hold the inquiry.
The railways have announced a compensation of Rs.5 lakh for the families of the dead and Rs.1 lakh each to the critically injured. The other injured passengers would receive Rs.10,000 as compensation.
Train traffic has been badly hit all across northern India following a dense fog that enveloped the region Friday-Saturday. Some trains were reduced to a crawl.
