India in a state of emergency train. This rail-based mode of transportation is back in a deadly accident. On Saturday, 23 people were killed by train slipping and causing train cars to collect. The cause of this accident is still under investigation.
Based on the photos reported by CNN, yesterday, the accident is very severe. A train of 14 railroad cars is in ruins. Many fell on the rails. There was one carriage across the other. At least 23 people were killed and 64 others wounded on the incident. The ill-fated train was Utkal Express's fast train.
The incident occurred on Saturday (19/8) evening. Hundreds of passengers who want to move from the city of Puri not to the destination city, namely Hadirwar. Reported by AFP, emergency personnel and local mobs rushed to a location where the 14-carriage train was slipping near Muzaffarnagar district, Uttar Pradesh state, about 130 kilometers from New Delhi.
The incident is the most recent deadly accident in rail-based mode of transportation in India. "23 people were killed and 64 others injured in the crash The rescue and relief operations continue," said G S Priyadarshi, Muzaffarnagar district judge.
A police officer at the accident site said 50 injured people had been taken to the hospital. "We are trying to get the people trapped out of the car," said senior police officer Jitender Kumar.
Another official said the rescue team evacuated using heavy equipment such as a tow truck to cut iron to remove casualties inside the car.
"A number of people have been safely evacuated from the existing coaches and several bodies have also been found," said fire and emergency officer Naresh Kumar.
The accident was the latest disaster to hit Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state. The accident came after at least 100 children died in a hospital in the same state.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted on Twitter to express his sympathy to the families of the victims and to seek help.
To note, India's rail network is still a very important rail-based mode of land transportation to reach the vast country. However, deadly accidents are common. Less than a year ago, 146 people were killed in a similar disaster in Uttar Pradesh.
In January, nearly 40 people were killed as eight carriages skidded into the southern Andra Pradesh forest. In 2014, an express train struck another stopping train, also in Uttar Pradesh, killing 26 people.
Modi Government has pledged to invest 137 billion dollars over five years to modernize the old railroad to make it safer, faster and more efficient. ***
