Rescue and relief services in “war position” after several carriages jumped off the tracks, leaving at least four overturned.
A passenger train ran off the tracks in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, killing at least two passengers and injuring 20 others, authorities said.
The Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express, which connects India’s northern states with the eastern state of Assam, derailed in Gonda district, near the Hindu holy city of Ayodhya, at around 2:30 pm (0900 GMT) on Thursday, it said. the Indian media.
At least four carriages overturned, broadcaster NDTV said. Network images showed passengers on top of a derailed compartment that fell on its side.
Naveen Kumar, state relief commissioner, said dozens of rescue workers, a team of 40 doctors and paramedics and 15 ambulances arrived at the crash site.
The injured were transferred to government hospitals and health centers 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 in a war situation and take the injured to hospital,” he added.
Old-fashioned
India has launched a $30 billion railway infrastructure upgrade in a bid to boost the economy and connectivity.
But analysts say that although accidents have declined over time, the country’s antiquated rail system still has a long way to go.
An average of 20,000 people died every year between 2017 and 2021 in train accidents – collisions, derailments and other causes – according to official records.
Faulty rails, poor maintenance and old signaling kit, combined with human errors, were the main causes of the derailments, according to a report by India’s top audit authority.
In June, a freight train collided with a passenger train in the eastern state of West Bengal, killing nine people and injuring dozens of others, including the driver.
Last year, almost 300 people died when a passenger train and a stopped freight train collided, with the derailed compartments hitting another fast-moving passenger service.
The worst railway accident ever in India occurred in 1981, when a cyclone knocked a train off the tracks and fell into a river in the state of Bihar, leaving 800 dead and more than 100 injured.
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