In another train accident, as many as 12 people were killed, and several others got severely injured. Two express trains rammed into each other near Nanadangar railway crossing in Gorakhpur on Tuesday night. Government has started the rescue operation as many more are feared to be dead.
“Krishak Express, travelling from Varanasi to Gorakhpur, hit Barauni Express, going from Lucknow to Barauni, from behind at a place seven km from here at around 11pm hours,” Chief Public Relations Officer Alok Singh said.
According to an eyewitness, Baruni Express was crossing Kainchi crossing when Krishak Express came on the same track, driver saw it and tried to prevent the collision by applying emergency brakes but it was too late, and head to head collision occurred. Everyone in the train got panicked and screamed for help as three general coaches of Baruni Express were thrown off the track. However, rescue team arrived at the accident site and gave their best shot to save as many lives as possible despite low visibility in the area.
Government has blocked the rout after the tracks got damaged due to the accident, and many trains have been diverted. They also have setup helpline numbers for many cities Gorakhpur (05513303365, 09794846980), Lucknow (05222233042), Chhapra (09006693233) and Benares (09919041978).
This year five major train accidents took place including the last mishap on 25 June 2014 when Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express Derailed near Bihar’s Chapra town. At least 50 people have been reported to be dead this year in train accidents.
According to some reports, central government is expected to pass a budget for the Railway Department to implement high-tech instruments to prevent any future accidents in the country.
PM has also sanctioned an ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased, and an amount of Rs. 50,000 to each who has been seriously injured from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund.