Indore-Patna Express derailed near Kanpur early this morning
Highlights
- Train accident happened when most passengers were asleep
- Somehow climbed out, can't find relatives, says a survivor
- Over 100 dead, nearly 200 injured in train accident near Kanpur
Deepika Tripathi, travelling on the Indore-Patna Express train with around 45 relatives, had slept just hours ago. She jerked awake to a bang and felt everything tumbling around her in pitch dark. Moments later, she realized that her coach was partly in the air.
"I somehow climbed out of the coach and realized what happened. We can't find five of our relatives," Deepika told reporters, waiting by the crashed train with her parents, who were in a different coach and survived.
14 coaches were thrown off track when the speeding train derailed in western Uttar Pradesh, killing over 100 passengers in their sleep. Nearly 200 have been injured.
The number of dead is expected to rise as some coaches haven't been accessed and chances of survival in the most damaged coaches were dimming with time.
Bind Kumar Tripathi, around 60, survived the crash and described the moment when his coach shook violently in the middle of the night.
"My friends were in the first and second coaches...they are badly injured...God saved me," said Mr Tripathi, breaking down.
Most of the train was off track and coaches were mangled when rescuers reached the spot in the morning. Luggage was scattered around.
Personnel had to cut through the metal to look for survivors or bodies.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who said he was
"anguished beyond words", announced Rs 2 lakh for the families of the dead and Rs 50,000 for those seriously injured. The Uttar Pradesh government has also announced Rs 5 lakh for the dead.