23 Killed, 161 Injured in India Train AccidentAt least 23 passengers were killed and 161 injured in the deadly train accident in southwest India's Kerala state on Friday evening, in which eight coaches of a passenger train derailed on a bridge and six of them plunged into the river, latest reports said.The Press Trust of India (PTI) quoted the local railway board as saying that six coaches of the Mangalore-Chennail Mail train fell into the Kadalundi river with three of them in 10 to 15 feet of water. One coach had submerged and two were hanging from the bridge. Rescue workers had so far fished out 21 bodies, including that of two women, from the river, said the PTI. Rescuers were using gas cutters and cranes to extricate a coach heavily immersed in the slush, the local police said. A local official was quoted as saying that rescue operations to fish out the remaining bodies and extricate the coaches would continue throughout the night, adding that heavy rains were hampering the operations. While the real cause of the mishap was yet to be ascertained, some railway sources and eyewitnesses said that breaches in the track probably caused the derailment of the coaches. "Since the train was reportedly travelling at a normal speed, suspicion points to breaches in the single-line track leading to the derailment," railway sources were quoted as saying by the PTI. Eyewitnesses said they heard a loud "thundering" sound when the coaches plunged into the water. Unending cries for help were heard for at least two hours from the Kadalundi river waters following the accident, they added. |
| People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/ |