At least three passengers were killed and seven others injured after 13 coaches of the Vasco Da Gama-Patna express jumped the track yesterday near Manikpur in Uttar Pradesh. In another incident, 14 wagons of a goods train loaded with coal derailed in Odisha’s Khurda Road.
The Indian Railways announced an ex-gratia for the victims of the Uttar Pradesh accident and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has ordered a probe. The accident occurred at the Manikpur station in Chitrakoot district at 4.18am.
Railway ministry spokesperson Anil Saxena said: “Three people have died and about seven others were injured. All the injured have been shifted to nearby hospitals for treatment.”
Railway Minister Goyal was monitoring the rescue operations, Saxena added.
“Immediate rescue and relief operations started and an inquiry ordered into the derailment of Vasco Da Gama-Patna Express at Manikpur, UP. My sincere condolences to the families of the deceased,” Goyal said in a tweet.
The railways spokesperson said the Railways has announced an ex-gratia of Rs500,000 to the kin of the deceased, and Rs100,000 for passengers with grievous injuries and Rs50,000 for those with simple injuries.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced Rs 200,000 each to the family of those killed, Rs50,000 for each of the seriously injured and Rs25,000 for those with simple injuries, an official statement said.
Saxena added that Railway Board chairman Ashwani Lohani after visiting the accident site had held a high-level meeting with the general manager and several other officials of the North Central Railway in Allahabad.
North Central Railway spokesperson Amit Malviya said a train with the remaining passengers of the Patna-Vasco Da Gama Express left for Patna at 7.25am from Manikpur.
Additional director general (law and order) Anand Kumar had earlier said the derailment had occurred due to a fracture in the tracks.
Two of the dead were identified as Deepak Patel, 25, and his six-year-old son Golu from Betia in Bihar. A 25-year-old unidentified person succumbed to his injuries in the hospital.
In another mishap, 14 wagons of the Paradeep-Cuttack goods train carrying coal derailed in Odisha’s Khurda Road.
According to East Coast Railway (ECoR) spokesperson J P Mishra, the goods train loaded with coal derailed between Goraknath-Raghunathpur. No one was injured.


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