Three passengers died and 26, including nine women and two infants, were injured after 13 coaches and the engine of 12618 Nizamuddin-Ernakulum Mangala Lakshadweep Express derailed at 6.25 am at Ghoti near Igatpuri railway station in Nashik district Friday.
Two of the three victims were identified as Satya Bir Singh (40) from Pathoda in Haryana and Raju Kushwaha (34) from Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh. “The family of the deceased have left for Nashik,” a railway officer said.
The third body was yet to be identified. The derailed coaches included five sleeper class coaches, three 3-AC coaches, two first-class AC coaches, one general second class, a pantry car and the seating-cum-luggage coach.
Among the injured, seven were admitted to Nashik Civil Hospital, three to Vakratunda hospital in Nashik and two to Gramin Hospital, Ghoti. Another 11 injured were treated for simple injuries, Central Railway spokesperson said.
While the exact cause of the accident will be determined during an inquiry by Commissioner of Railway Safety, according to railway officials, prima facie the accident occurred due to breakage of rails. “The locomotive of the train also derailed, indicating that the rails had broken,” said an officer.
Soon after the accident, workers along with an ambulance from Mahindra and Mahindra factory near Igatpuri were reported to be the first ones to come to the rescue of the victims.
While senior railway officials, including B P Khare, General Manager (Central Railway), rushed to the site to monitor relief operations, a special 22-coach relief train left Lokmanya Tilak Terminus for Igatpuri before 10.30 am and left Igatpuri with 450 rescued passengers at 12.30 pm. By 7 pm, seven of the 10 derailed coaches were lifted with the help of a crane and removed from railway tracks.
Source : Indian Express
