At least 119 people were killed and more than 150 injured when an Indian express train derailed in northern state of Uttar Pradesh today (Sunday), with the toll set to rise amid a scramble to locate survivors.
According to Reuters, police officials said people were still missing as authorities tried to determine what caused 14 carriages of the train traveling between the northeastern city of Patna and the central city of Indore to suddenly roll off the tracks in Pukhrayan, 65 km south of Kanpur city.
Authorities said they were checking the condition of the tracks but would need to look further before concluding the cause of the derailment.
Desperate survivors searched for family members and some tried to enter the damaged carriages to rescue relatives and collect belongings.
Kanpur district magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma told Reuters that 119 people were confirmed dead, while 78 of the injured remained in hospital, four of them in a critical condition.
With rescue teams still looking for victims amid the wreckage, the toll from the derailment could rise to become India’s worst rail tragedy in this century.
The packed train, operated by the government, derailed in the early hours of Sunday when more than 500 passengers were sleeping, survivors said.
Footage showed mangled carriages, with crowds, including police on top of the wreckage searching for survivors. One carriage was almost lying on its side and appeared to have been torn apart.
“Suddenly I could feel that the carriage was overturning. I immediately held the metal rod near the bathroom door,” said Faizal Khan, who was traveling with his wife and two children, all of whom survived the accident.
Another survivor, Rajdeep Tanwar, said. “I can see bodies lying near the tracks, everyone is in a state of shock. There is no water or food for us.”
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