At least two people died and 43 people were injured when a train derailed in northern India yesterday, police and rail officials said, at least the third such accident in recent weeks that has raised concerns about the safety of the aging rail network.
The train derailed in Rura, India, near the city of Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh State at about 5:30am.
Local government officials said some coaches had crashed into each other and turned sideways after coming off the tracks.
Photo: AFP
“We can confirm two deaths and injuries to at least 28 persons, who are admitted at different hospitals around Kanpur,” Kanpur police inspector general Zaki Ahmad said.
The number of injured people was later updated to 43.
All the injured, several of whom were in critical condition, had been taken to nearby hospitals, Uttar Pradesh police director general Javeed Ahmad said in a tweet.
TV footage from the scene showed mangled, toppled carriages, some with their wheels still on the tracks. Two coaches had fallen off a bridge into a small canal. Some passengers were seen picking up their luggage from near the tracks.
Indian Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhu said senior department officials had already rushed to the accident scene.
“Immediate medical help being provided to the injured. Mobilized resources, directed all concerned to ensure rescue and relief,” Prabhu said on Twitter. “Thorough investigation will be carried out to ascertain the cause.”
India’s creaking railway system is the world’s fourth largest. It runs 11,000 trains a day, including 7,000 passenger trains carrying more than 20 million people.
However, it has a poor safety record, with thousands of people dying in accidents every year, including in derailments and collisions.
This was at least the third such accident in recent weeks. On Nov. 20, at least 146 people died when a train derailed near the same city.
Prabhu has promised to replace old tracks and upgrade safety apparatus. The government spends more than 90 percent of the railways’ revenues on operational costs, leaving little for upgrades for the colonial-era system.
Analysts estimate the railways need 20 trillion rupees (US$293.3 billion) of investment by 2020, and India is turning to partnerships with private companies and seeking loans from other countries to upgrade the network.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese