74 injured, four critical, as train derails in UP

At least 74 persons, four in critical condition, were injured when 10 coaches of the Kaifiyat Express derailed in Auraiya district of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday morning, police said.

The incident took place after the train bound for New Delhi from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh hit a dumper, which had overturned on the railway tracks between Achalda and Pata stations around 2.40 a.m, a railway official said.

According to the police, the four persons with serious head injuries were rushed to Etawah district hospital.

Two others have been shifted to Saifai medical college, he said.

Principal secretary (Home) Arvind Kumar said the rescue work concluded around 7 a.m.

The dumper carried sand for the railway work of dedicated freight corridor running parallel to the track, Inspector General of Police (Kanpur Zone) Alok Singh told IANS.

However, railway officials in Delhi said the dumper did not belong to the corridor project.

Senior officials from Etawah, Auraiya and Kannauj rushed to the spot and oversaw the rescue operation, Kumar told IANS.

Kanpur Divisional Commissioner P.K. Mohanty said other injured were shifted to medical facilities in Etawah.

The official said work was underway to repair the tracks and clear the important Delhi-Howrah route from which hundreds of trains pass every day.

At least seven trains were cancelled and 40 diverted due to the incident.

This is the second train accident in Uttar Pradesh within a week after 14 coaches of the Kalinga Utkal Express derailed in Muzaffarnagar on Saturday, leaving 22 dead and over 150 injured.

--IANS

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