10 hurt in UP train accident; Lalu orders inquiry

New Delhi, Aug 7: At least ten passengers were injured, two of them seriously, when two engines and two coaches of the Jodhpur-Howrah Express jumped the tracks near Juhi yard, 8 km from Kanpur station, in Uttar Pradesh, this afternoon.

A Railway Ministry official, quoting preliminary reports, said the train (2308 Dn), which was on its way from Jodhpur to Howrah, met with the accident at 1225 hrs, throwing Delhi-bound rail traffic in a total disarray.

Railway Minister Lalu Prasad has ordered an inquiry into the accident that occurred under the Allahabad division of North Central Railway.

The assistant driver of the train, who was trapped inside one of the derailed engines, was rescued while the chief driver sustained some injuries.

The two seriously injured passengers have been identified as Mohd Anif of Kanpur and Noor Mohammad of Hazaribagh in Jharkhand.

The injured were taken to the Railway Hospital and the Civil Hospital in Kanpur.

The coaches involved in the derailment were one Second Class (ordinary) and a front passenger-cum-luggage (SLR).

The official said a relief train, along with the Railway medical team, reached the accident site immediately.

He said the General Manager, North Central Railway, and the DRM, Allahabad Division, were on their way to the site from Allahabad.

Rescue operations are continuing in full swing.

The Railways has set up an emergency helpline number 0512-1072 (Kanpur) for the convenience of the public.

GRP sources confirmed in Lucknow that an unspecified number of passengers were injured when the coaches derailed soon after the train left the yard.

UNI