53 injured as train derails near Kanpur (Third Lead)

At least 53 passengers were injured as 15 coaches of the Ajmer-Sealdah Express derailed early Wednesday morning in Uttar Pradesh, an official said.

The accident took place near Rura station near Kanpur, he said.

"The number of injured has risen to 53 since morning," Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Daljeet Singh Chaudhary told IANS.

He said that at least 10 passengers have been shifted to the Kanpur Medical College and Hospital for better treatment.

The coaches of the Ajmer-bound train derailed near Rura, about 50 km from Kanpur, around 5.20 a.m. Of the derailed coaches, 13 were sleeper class coaches and two general coaches, the official said.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has ordered a probe into the accident.

This is the second major incident in a span of 38 days. On November 20, 14 coaches of the Patna-Indore Express train had derailed near Kanpur, in which 149 passengers had died and over 300 received injuries.

According to railway officials, those critically injured were earlier rushed to Akbarpur -- the district headquarters of Kanpur (Rural), while the other injured were rushed to a Community Health Centre in Rura.

A medical train has been sent from Lucknow to the accident site, a Northern Railway (NR) official told IANS and informed that helpline numbers have also been issued in Kanpur, Lucknow and Allahabad.

Two of the coaches had fallen in a 'nahar' (canal), leading to fears of more injuries and even casualties.

According to the railway authorities, senior railway, district and police officials have rushed to the accident site for rescue and relief operations. A team of the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) was also rushed to the spot from Varanasi.

Following the accident, routes of at least 32 trains had to be diverted, North Central Railway official Amit Malviya told IANS.

The railways have also arranged 12 buses to bring passengers to Kanpur and five buses to take passengers to Agra.

The reason for the derailment of the train is yet to be ascertained.

The Railway Minister and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister have separately announced ex gratia of Rs 50,000 each for passengers receiving serious injuries and Rs 25,000 for those with minor injuries.

--IANS

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