78 injured as Kaifiyat Express derails in UP

Lucknow, August 23 : At least 78 passengers of Delhi-bound 12225 Kaifiyat Express were injured when the engine and five bogies derailed at Achhalda in Aurraiya district after the train rammed into a dumper. Most of the injuries occurred in one bogie that overturned, said Principal Secretary Home Arvind Kumar.Of the four critically injured in the accident, two have been referred to Etawah and another two to Saifai, Kumar said. The accident has disrupted traffic on both ‘up’ and ‘down’ lines of the busy Delhi-Howrah route. Dozens of trains have been re-routed, including Rajdhanis coming from Bhubaneswar and Ranchi. Many trains, including the Gomti Express, have been cancelled. The accident that occurred at 2.40 am near Railway Gate Number 14 in Achhalda between Kanpur and Etawah railway station shook people out of sleep. This comes under North-Central Railways headquartered at Allahabad. According to Home Secretary Anand Swaroop, an NDRF team has been rushed from Lucknow for rescue and relief operations.The Principal Secretary, Home, said the rescue work had been completed and all passengers moved to Achhalda railway station. A rescue train is arriving to take them to their destination of Delhi, he said.While an inquiry is yet to be ordered, a dumper loaded with ‘gitti’ suddenly appeared on the track, causing the accident. The loco pilot also received injuries.