Death toll in W. Bengal train mishap climbs to 114, could rise further

The death toll in yesterday's derailment and collision involving the Mumbai-bound Gyaneshwari Express in West Bengal's West Midnapore district has risen to 114 and officials said the figure could climb further.

As many as 13 coaches of the superfast Howrah-Kurla train derailed around 1.30 am yesterday near Kharagpur and three of them were hit within minutes by a speeding goods train coming from the opposite direction.

Authorities have declared the derailment as an act of sabotage by Maoists, whose outfits had declared a "Black Week" in the region. Officials said the driver of the passenger train had reported hearing a loud noise before the Howrah-Kurla superfast train passed the spot.

Television pictures showed about 18 inches of the track missing at the spot where the derailment took place, apparently cut.

More than 40 hours after the incident, rescue teams continued their frantic efforts today morning to look for survivors and pull out bodies from the mangled bogies at the scene of the mishap.

The incident occurred between the Khemasoli and Sardiya stations on the Kharagpur-Tatanagar section, about 135 km from Kolkata.

At least 149 people suffered injuries in the incident and are being treated in hospitals in Kharagpur, Midnapore and Kolkata. About 38 of them have suffered grievous injuries.

The officials said efforts were being made to clear the tracks at the scene of the mishap with the help of two giant cranes which had finally managed to reach the spot.

The task of repairing the tracks and restoring normal trafic would take some more time, they said.

According to the officials, 34 of the passengers killed in the incident had been identified so far and the bodies of several of them had been handed over to their relatives.

Rescue and relief teams at the scene of the derailment of the Howrah-Kurla Gyaneshwari Express in West Bengal on May 28, 2010.

The Railways have also started making payments of the compensation amount of Rs 5 lakhs announced for the next of kin of each of those killed. Out of the amount, Rs 25,000 was paid in cash and the remainder by cheque, they said.

As a result of the accident, the Railways had rescheduled or cancelled some trains. Many others were running way behind schedule.

The trains cancelled yesterday included the 2021/2022 Howrah-Barbil Jan Shatdbdi Express, 2871/2872 Howrah-Titlagarh Ispat Express, 2813/2814 Howrah-Tata Steel Express, 315/316 Howrah- Chakradharpur Passenger. 8003/8004 Jhargram-Purulia Bi-Weekly Express, 8005/8006 Howrah-Koraput-Howrah Express, 8615/8616 Howrah-Hatia-Howrah Express, 2865/2866 Howrah-Purlia-Howrah Express and 8645 Howrah-Hyderabad Express.

Furthermore, the Railways have decided to suspend running of trains between 2200 hours and 0500 hours till June 1 between Kharagpur and Rourkela and Kharagpur and Adra in view of the "black week" announced by some outfits.

Accordingly, many of the trains scheduled to leave from Howrah in the night will now leave in the morning hours.

An official press release here said the Railways had arranged for free travel facility for the next of kin of the victims of the mishap.

NNN