23 dead in Utkal Express derailment, locals claim track repair to blame
- 586 train accidents in the last five years were due to derailments with the Utkal Express derailment being the latest
- 156 were injured after 14 coaches of the Puri-Haridwar Kalinga Utkal Express derailed near Muzzafarnagar in western Uttar Pradesh on Saturday evening
- Locals in the area have told the media that track repair work had been going on for a few days and they suspect that the driver of the train was unaware of the problems in the tracks
FollowOver 23 people died and 156 were injured after 14 coaches of the Puri-Haridwar Kalinga Utkal Express derailed near Muzzafarnagar in western Uttar Pradesh on Saturday evening. Â The train was coming from Puri in Odisha and going to Haridwar in Uttarakhand, normally a journey of about 36 hours.
The coaches damaged were S1 to S10 sleeper class, third AC B1, second AC A1 coach and the pantry. At the time of the derailment, the train was running at 100kmph.
Locals in the area have told the media that track repair work had been going on for a few days and they suspect that the driver of the train was unaware of the problems in the tracks. Railway authorities claim it was regular maintenance work.
Nearly 53 per cent of the 586 train accidents in the last five years were due to derailments with the Utkal Express derailment being the latest. Railway minister Suresh Prabhu has directed the Chairman, Railway Board, to fix responsibility on prima facie evidence by end of day.
Prabhu also announced Rs 3.5 lakh ex-gratia compensation for those who lost their lives, Rs 50,000 for the seriously injured and Rs 25,000 for those who received minor injuries.
Principal Secretary (Information) Avanish Awasthi said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the kin of the dead and Rs 50,000 for those injured. Notwithstanding the railways' attempts to upgrade the safety apparatus, many such accidents continue to occur.
In recent times the worst accident was the November 20, 2016 derailment of the Indore-Patna Express near Kanpur which resulted in 150 deaths and over 150 injuries.
The train pulled out of Pukhrayan station, on the outskirts of Kanpur, and derailed soon after. Several causes, including overcrowding and fracture in the railway line, were attributed to the accident.
