Three killed in Uttar Pradesh train crash, four suspended (Fifth Lead)

FIROZABAD - At least two women and a child were killed and 14 people injured when two trains collided near Tundla railway station in Uttar Pradesh’s Firozabad district in dense fog Saturday, an official said.

The Kalindi Express and the Shram Shakti Express, both headed for Kanpur, collided around 8 a.m. on the Delhi-Howrah trunk route near Tundla railway station, around 25 km from Agra.

“We have learnt that three passengers - two women and a child - of the Shram Shakti Express have been killed in the accident,” Firozabad District Magistrate N.G. Ravi Kumar told IANS.

According to railway sources, while Rama Devi (30), wife of Hari Singh, a resident of Rasoolabad in Kanpur, and her three-year-old son Mohit died on the spot, the third victim was a woman in her mid-20s, is yet to be identified.

Railway officials said both trains were heading to Kanpur. While the Shram Shakti Express was coming from Delhi, the Kalindi Express had left from Bhiwani.

“Rescue operations have nearly been completed and the 14 injured are being treated at hospitals in Tundla and Agra. Most of the injured are women,” Rav Kumar said.

Though the exact cause of the accident is yet to be ascertained, he said that “fog appears to be one of the factors”.

Acting tough following the accident, the railway ministry has suspended four officials, a senior ministry official in New Delhi said.

“Initially, four officials have been suspended. The probe will go on to ascertain the cause of the accident,” the official said.

The suspended officials are Divisional Railway Manager (Allahabad division) S.K. Aggarwal, Senior Divisional Mechanical Engineer Vineet Singh of the Northern Railway (based in New Delhi) and two drivers of Kalandi Express - Ram Prakash and Satpal Singh Yadav.

The ministry has constituted a three-member committee, under the supervision of the Commissioner of Railway Safety, to probe the accident.

According to officials, the three-member committee has as members Railway Board member (mechanical) Praveen Kumar, director general of railway health services V.K. Ramteke and additional member (signal and telecom) K.B. Sharma.

Firozabad Senior Superintendent of police Raghuveer Lal told IANS: “The Kalindi Express dashed against the Shram Shakti Express near the Tundla railway station.”

“Two rear coaches of the Shram Shakti Express have been severely damaged following the accident. Of the 14 injured, at least seven are women,” he added.

The railways have announced a compensation of Rs.500,000 each to the families of those killed and Rs.100,000 each to the critically injured. The other injured would receive Rs.10,000 each, officials said.

Agra Divisional Railway Manager Devesh Mishra said the women’s coach and the guard’s cabin had been hit. Train traffic on the route was disrupted for two hours.

“It looks like the visibility was too low because of the heavy fog and the driver could not see,” Mishra told IANS.

People complained of “delayed relief operations” and said the rescue work was started by the passengers themselves.

“The railway authorities and other officials arrived more than an hour after the accident for rescue and relief operations,” Prashant Kumar, a resident of Kanpur who was travelling on the Shram Shakti Express, told reporters in Firozabad.

Said Aman Jain, another passenger of the Shram Shakti Express: “Passengers of the trains helped rescue a large number of people trapped in the last coach of the Shram Shakti Express.”

R.D. Vajapayee, chief public relations officer (CPRO) of North Central Railway, told reporters in Allahabad that the railway ministry has taken the accident “very seriously”.

“If a railway accident occurs in such a short span of time, it’s really unfortunate and requires an extensive probe,” Vajapayee said referring to the two train accidents Jan 2.

Two train accidents took place Jan 2 in the state’s Kanpur and Etawah districts.

On Jan 2, 11 people were killed when the Gorakhdham Express collided with the stationary Prayagraj Express in Kanpur. In a separate accident, the Lichchavi Express rammed into the Magadh Express in Etawah, but there were no casualties. Both accidents occurred in thick fog.