Rescue and relief services on ‘war footing’ after several carriages jumped tracks, leaving at least four overturned.
A passenger train jumped the tracks in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh, killing at least two passengers and injuring 20 others, according to the authorities.
The Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express, which connects India’s northern states to the eastern state of Assam, derailed in Gonda district, near the Hindu holy city of Ayodhya, at about 2:30pm (09:00 GMT) on Thursday, Indian media reported.
At least four carriages had overturned, said broadcaster NDTV. The network’s footage showed passengers standing on top of a derailed compartment that had crashed onto its side.
Naveen Kumar, a state relief commissioner, said dozens of rescuers, a 40-member team of doctors and paramedics, and 15 ambulances had reached the site of the accident.
The injured have been moved to hospitals and government health centres in the area, he said.
“The train accident in Gonda district is extremely sad,” Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath posted on social media platform X.
“District administration officials have been directed to carry out relief and rescue operations on a war footing and to take the injured to the hospital,” he added.
Antiquated
India has launched a $30bn railway infrastructure modernisation in a bid to boost the economy and connectivity.
But analysts say that while accidents have reduced over time, the country’s antiquated rail system still has a long way to go.
An average of 20,000 people died each year between 2017 and 2021 in rail accidents – collisions, derailments and other causes – according to official records.
Defective tracks, poor maintenance and old signalling kit combined with human error were the main cause of derailments, a report by India’s top audit authority said.
In June, a cargo train rammed into a passenger train in the eastern state of West Bengal, killing nine people and injuring dozens of others, including the driver.
Last year, nearly 300 people were killed when a passenger train and a stationary goods train collided, with the derailed compartments then striking another fast-moving passenger service.
India’s worst-ever rail accident occurred in 1981, when a cyclone blew a train off its tracks and into a river in the state of Bihar, leaving 800 dead and more than 100 injured.