India: Several dead as train derails in West Bengal
January 14, 2022
At least nine people were killed, and dozens of others were injured when a train derailed on Thursday in India's West Bengal state.
The express train was on its way to the northeastern state of Assam, from Bikaner in the western state of Rajasthan when 12 of its cars went off the rails. Three of those capsized.
More than 1,000 passengers were on board at the time of the accident, according to the Northeast Frontier Railway.
At least 45 people were injured, and about 15 of them were reported to be in critical condition.
Rescuers work throughout the night
Images from the site of the accident showed mangled coaches stacked on top of each other, while passengers were stuck in twisted metal and debris.
All survivors of the accident were out of the coaches by midnight, senior railway official Guneet Kaur told Indian news channel NDTV.
The rescue operations went on throughout the night.
Initial reports had confirmed five dead, but by the time rescue operations concluded Friday morning, four more bodies were recovered.
The coaches were being cleared off the tracks to restore train services in the region, railway officials said Friday morning.
Indian officials pledge compensation
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted his condolences.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw arrived at the site of the accident on Friday morning. He announced financial compensation for the families of the deceased, as well as for those injured.
" In an unfortunate accident, 12 Coaches of Bikaner - Guwahati Exp. derailed near New Maynaguri (West Bengal) this evening," Vaishnaw tweeted Thursday. "Personally monitoring the situation for swift rescue operations."
The cause of the accident was being investigated, officials said.
This was the first first major train accident in India in nearly three years.
While Indian Railways once had a patchy safety record, officials say there has been a significant reduction in the number of accidents in recent years thanks to several safety initiatives.
The state-owned railway operates 121,407 kilometers (75,439 miles) of track and carries more than 23 million passengers daily, who connect through 7,172 stations.
The AP news agency contributed to this report.
Edited by Darko Janjevic