Some 14 coaches of a passenger train rolled off the tracks in a deadly early morning derailment. It is unclear what caused the mishap that killed at least 100 people.
At least 14 cars of the Patna-Indore Express train came off the rails near the Pukhrayan area around 3 a.m. local time. Medical teams were providing first aid near the site while more seriously injured victims were transported to hospital in Kanpur, said a police official in Purwa. Volunteers and local police were rescuing trapped passengers.
Rail passenger Satish Kumar told the Associated Press that the train was traveling at a seemingly normal speed when it stopped suddenly. "It restarted, and then we heard a crash," said Kumar, whose coach remained standing on the track. "When we came out of the train, we saw a few coaches had derailed." Some of the rail cars crumpled when they crashed into others, trapping hundreds of people inside.
The cause of the derailment is unknown. Train accidents are common in India, primarily due to human error or aging equipment. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to give his condolences and said he'd dispatched the railways minister to the scene.
The cause of the derailment is unknown. Train accidents are common in India, primarily due to human error or aging equipment. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to give his condolences and said he'd dispatched the railways minister to the scene.
Kanpur is a major railway junction where hundreds of trains pass through everyday. Trains using the line were diverted to other routes, said Anil Saxena, a spokesman for Indian Railways. India's railway network, one of the world's largest, is still the main form of long-distance travel in the vast country, but it is poorly funded and deadly accidents occur relatively frequently.
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