25 passengers were injured in the mishap, four of them seriously; Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu offers to resign, PM Narendra Modi asks him to wait
Onlookers at the site of the accident. Pic/AFP
As many as 100 passengers were injured as 10 bogies of the Kaifiyat Express derailed in UP's Auraiya district early yesterday after dashing against a dumper carrying construction material for railway work, officials here said.
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However, the railways said 25 persons were injured in the incident and that the dumper did not belong to them.
Superintendent of Police, Auraiya, Sanjay Tyagi said 10 bogies of the train derailed of which one overturned, leading to injuries to 100 passengers of which four with serious injuries were rushed to Saifai and Etawah hospitals.
Some of the injured were discharged after first aid, the SP said, adding that there is no report of any casualty so far.
The train travelling from Azamgarh to Delhi collided with the dumper at around 2:50 am between Pata and Achhalda railway stations, a spokesperson for the North Central Railway (NCR) said.
Secretary Home, Bhagwan Swarup said the accident took place due to a loader carrying material for work on a dedicated freight corridor.
Prabhu says he might quit
Taking "full moral responsibility" for the recent train accidents, Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu yesterday indicated he had offered to resign in a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The minister met the prime minister after a meeting of the Cabinet and left the city soon after, his staff said. "I met the Hon'ble Prime Minister @narendramodi taking full moral responsibility," Prabhu said in a tweet. The prime minister, he added, had asked him to wait.
"Accountability is good system in government. The PM will take a decision on whatever request the rail minister has made," Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters after the Cabinet briefing.
Prabhu, under pressure from the opposition to resign, said in a series of emotional tweets that he was "extremely pained" by the two derailments in Uttar Pradesh on August 19 and yesterday.
Soon after Prabhu's tweet, the government announced the appointment of Air India CMD Ashwani Lohani as chairman of the Railway Board.
Major recent rail accidents
November 20, 2016: The Indore-Patna Express derailed near Kanpur resulting in 150 deaths and over 150 injuries.
September 12, 2015: The Shivalik Queen, a chartered train from Kalka to Shimla, derailed causing 2 deaths, and 15 people were injured.
September 12, 2015: Nine coaches of the Secunderabad Junction-Mumbai Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Duronto Express derailed near Kalburgi town. Two people died and seven were injured.
August 4, 2015: Kamayani Express, on its way to Varanasi, derailed owing to flash floods followed by the Janata Express. 31 died over 100 were injured.
March 20, 2015: The Dehradun-Varanasi Janata Express derailed in Rae Bareli resulting in the deaths of 58 passengers, injuring over 150.
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