Uttar Pradesh train derailment toll rises to 63

Lucknow, July 11 (IANS) The toll in the Kalka Mail derailment in Uttar Pradesh rose to 63 with more bodies being pulled out from the wreckage of the mangled coaches, an official said Monday.

"We are carrying out a final round of search to ensure that there are no more bodies trapped in any of the 14 mangled coaches," said Col. A.D.S. Dhillon, who has been leading the rescue operations since Sunday.

"So far, we have a count of 63 dead bodies that were retrieved from the wreckage of the train," Dhillon told reporters at the site of the accident.

According to officials, sniffer dogs have been pressed into service as authorities believe some passengers could still be trapped under the heaps of mangled metal.

Fatehpur's Chief Medical Officer Keshav Narain Joshi said about 150 people were hospitalised with injuries ranging from amputations to fractures and multiple wounds.

As many as 240 passengers were injured Sunday noon when 14 coaches of the Kalka Mail derailed when it was nearing the Malwan railway station in Fatehpur district, about 140 km from here. Coaches toppled over two adjoining rail tracks, sealing off the busy route to Howrah from where the train was coming.

The overturned coaches included the air-conditioned ones and the pantry car. At least one coach was crushed by another.

The reason for the accident was not clear. But some officials said the train was going at over 100 km per hour when the driver applied emergency brakes just before the Malwan station.