India train accident death toll rises to 67

Jul 11, 2011, 6:32 GMT

New Delhi - The death toll in a train derailment in northern India rose to 67 Monday, with more bodies being pulled out of the wrecked coaches, officials said.

Thirteen coaches of the Delhi-bound Howrah-Kalka express train were thrown off the rails in Uttar Pradesh state's southern Fatehpur district on Sunday.

Rescue teams assisted by the army worked overnight to save trapped passengers from the damaged coaches, 140 kilometres south-east of state capital Lucknow.

'So far, a total of 67 bodies that have been retrieved,' district police spokesman Sunil Rai said by telephone from the scene.

A total of 210 people were hospitalized with injuries ranging from amputations to fractures and multiple wounds.

Doctors at the main district hospital said 35 people were in a 'serious' condition.

'The death toll could rise further as there is one coach which has been damaged so badly that the army is finding it hard to cut open using blow-torches,' Rai added.

The reason for the derailment of the train, which was travelling at more than 100 kilometres per hour, was not clear and a probe had been ordered.

Local railway officials said the accident could have been caused by a fault on the rail tracks or if the driver had suddenly applied the emergency brakes.

The carriages had fallen across adjoining rail tracks, leading to a suspension of train services on the busy route.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed shock over the train accident, the second in recent days.

On Thursday, 38 people were killed when a train crashed into a bus full of wedding guests on an unmanned crossing in the same state.