A train accident near Kanpur, when the Indore-Patna Express derailed left several people dead.
The Indore-Patna Express train derailed in a train accident in Pukhraya near Kanpur in northern Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, killing more than 100 people and leaving around 200 wounded, as rescuers continued a scramble to locate survivors from the mangled wreck. About 20 people were still missing as authorities were trying to ascertain what caused 14 carriages of the Indore-Patna Express - travelling between the Patna and Indore - to suddenly roll off the tracks. Amid scenes of desperation and anguish, survivors were looking for family members and some were also trying to enter the damaged carriages of the Indore-Patna Express to rescue relatives and collect belongings. Railway officials announced helpline numbers for relatives to of those killed or injured in the Indore-Patna Express train accident.
Patna - 0612-2202290, 0612-2202291, 0612-2202292, 025-83288 | lndore - 0741 1072 | Ujjain - 0734 2560906 | Ratlam - 07412 1072 | Mugalsarai - 05412-251258, 05412-254145 | Hajipur - 06224-272230 | Jhansi - 05101072 | Orai - 051621072 | Kanpur - 05121072 | Pokhrayan - 05113-270239
With the number of deaths in the Indore-Patna Express accident set to rise further, the derailment could become India's worst rail tragedy since 2005, when a train was crushed by a rock and another plunged into a river - each killing more than 100 people. The packed train derailed in the early hours of Sunday when more than 500 passengers were sleeping, survivors said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his concern over the derailment. "Anguished beyond words on the loss of lives due to the derailing of the Patna-Indore express. My thoughts are with the bereaved families," PM Modi posted on his Twitter account.