Three killed as Vasco Da Gama-Patna express derails in Chitrakoot, UP

Three persons were killed and at least nine injured after the Vasco Da Gama-Patna Express derailed in Chitrakoot district in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh.

The train 12741 derailed on platform number two in Manikpur in the early hours of Friday, at 4:14 am, a police spokesperson said.

One bogey of the train had "half-tilted in the derailment, police said, adding a "major accident [had been] averted."

Two of the dead were identified as Deepak Patel and his father Ram Swaroop Patel, who belong to Betia in Bihar. The father and son died on the spot.

Seven injured were referred to the Manikpur CHC while two were sent to the district hospital in Chitrakoot.

According to ADG (Law and Order), Anand Kumar, prima facie it appears that fractured railway track is the cause of accident as per local assessment.

Providing a breakup of the derailed coaches, North Central Railway PRO Amit Malviya said, the coaches which jumped off the rails were coaches numbered S3-S11, two general coaches and two extra coaches.

“The injured have been rushed to the hospital and officials have left for the spot. Relief operations are underway,” North Central Railway PRO Amit Malviya said.

He further said that soon after the accident, a medical train reached the spot and by 5:20 am, an accident relief train was dispatched for the spot.

The divisional railway manager (DRM), Allahabad has already reached the spot while the General Manager, NCR is on his way, he said.

The stranded passengers were cleared from the site by the front eight coaches of the train by 7:25 am.

The unaffected portion of the train them left for Allahabad, while a special train is being organised to ferry the passengers to the final destination of the train, Patna.

In the aftermath of the derailment, movement of trains was disrupted on the Patna-Allahabad route.

The train derailment in Chitrakoot comes less than 12 hours after a bolero had collided with a passenger train near Lucknow killing four and injuring two.

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal announces ex-gratia compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to kin of dead in Vasco Da Gama-Patna express derailment, Rs 1 lakh for those with grievous injuries