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48 killed in UP train mishap

Forty-eight people were killed and 62 were injured when the Bareilly-Varanasi passenger rammed into the Kashi Vishwanath Express between Kama and Masit stations on the Roza-Lucknow section.

A northern railway press release here today said the toll could go up as more bodies were believed to be buried under the debris. Sixteen people have been admitted to various hospitals with serious injuries and another 46 have sustained minor injuries, the release stated.

Six of those seriously injured have been admitted to the King George Medical College and Hospital at Lucknow, nine at the Railway Hospital, Lucknow, and one at the civil hospital in Hardoi.

Railway Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, Railway Board Chairman V K Agarwal are among those who have rushed to the accident site.

Search for bodies, rescue and relief operations were on but the task was rendered difficult as the coaches hit included two unreserved coaches, of which the number and names of occupants were not known.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 50,000 thousand to next of kin of the killed and Rs 15,000 to those injured.

The railways authorities have set up enquiry counters at Varanasi, Lucknow, New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin stations. Trains running on the section have been diverted to other sections.

The Kashi Vishwanath Express had stopped after it ran over a ''nilgai''. The accident occurred when the Bareilly-Varanasi passenger, which had left Karna without line clearance ran into the rear of the express.

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