Diverted from disaster, train runs into tragedy

Twelve people were killed and more than 70 injured when 13 coaches of the New Delhi-Patna Shramjeevi Express derailed near Jaunpur early in ...

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Twelve people were killed and more than 70 injured when 13 coaches of the New Delhi-Patna Shramjeevi Express derailed near Jaunpur early in the morning today. Railway minister Nitish Kumar, who visited the spot and hinted at sabotage, had ordered an inquiry.

The mishap occurred at 3.45 am near the Mani halt between Kathsarai and Mehrawa stations on the Lucknow-Varanasi section of Northern Railways. Of the 13, two were AC coaches, one general, one pantry car and the rest sleepers, according to Jaunpur District Magistrate Chandrabhanu.

Ironically, the train had been diverted to Jaunpur instead of the regular Lucknow-Sultanpur route following the derailment of a goods train on it. ADM Girjesh Kumar Tyagi said of the 70 injured, 30 were released after first-aid. While 37 passengers had been admitted to the Jaunpur and Shahganj Civil Hospitals and Habib Hospital in Kathsarai, three passengers with severe injuries had been shifted to the Heritage Hospital in Varanasi, Tyagi said.

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Tyagi said six victims had been identified. They are: Mrityunjay Shrivastava of Ashok Nagar Colony of Varanasi, Udai Singh of Madhubani, Mrs Raghubir and Arati of Nalanda, Mrs Roshan of Bhagalpur and Shriram of Buxar.

Those at the spot said officials reached the site after two hours. Sohan, a passenger, said students from a madarsa at the Guraini Market, half a kilometre from the site, reached the spot shortly after and started rescue work, including taking the injured to Habib Hospital.

Jaunpur District Information Officer Harishankar Tripathi said general coach passengers he spoke to told him the coach was making a strange noise; they said they’d complained to the railway authorities at the Jaunpur station but no action was taken.

In Patna, Nitish Kumar said a statutory inquiry had been ordered into the derailment; the Commissioner of Railway Safety’s preliminary report was expected within a week. The minister said the next of kin of each victim would be immediately paid Rs. 1 lakh as ex-gratia while the Railway Claims Tribunal would pay another Rs 3 lakh as compensation after verification. Each of the seriously injured would get ex-gratia of Rs. 25,000.

Chaos at Patna railway station

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PATNA: By God’s grace, my family survived. I have been offering prayer to the deity since morning,’’ said an emotionally-charged Kaushalaya Devi, 70, could scarcely mutter the words as she hugged her son, sister and grandchildren who were among the survivors of the train derailment.

‘‘God has listened to my prayers. I will distribute sweets among my neighbours,’’ she said as tears rolled along her wrinkled cheeks. Utter chaos prevailed at Patna station tonight as the special train carrying stranded passengers of the Sharamjeevi Express pulled in.

Railway police had a tough time in controlling anxious relatives, waiting at the station ever since the mishap news broke in the morning, as they rushed to the compartments as soon as the special train arrived at 8:35 pm. For many, the agony was over after spotting their near and dear ones.

Shambhu Nath, a labourer, said he heard a thud and was thrown off his upper berth in the early hours. ‘‘When I regained consciousness, I was in pain. But I managed to come out of the bogie,’’ Nath said. ( PTI)