(RepublicanNews.org) – An October 11th train derailment in the eastern portion of India has claimed a minimum of four victims, all of whom were passengers. In addition to those who were killed in the incident, authorities said that approximately 70 others were hurt. Of the injured passengers, at least 31 required hospitalization.
Officials overseeing the events have indicated that the accident could have been far worse. Railroad administrator D.K. Pathak, who happened to be in one of the train’s cars at the time of the crash, told local media that the overwhelming majority of injuries were isolated to a single derailed coach.
Initial reports put the number of derailed cars at less than 10, but follow-up comments from the general manager of India’s East Central Railway suggest the total could be much higher. Tarun Prakash, the GM in question, provided numbers that were in stark contrast to the six cars that were originally reported as having derailed.
The railroad administrator told ANI news that “twenty-one coaches” had come off the tracks. Reports uniformly indicate that 23 connected cars were part of the ill-fated convoy. Before the accident, the train was slated for a final destination in the state of Assam. It originally departed from a staging point in New Delhi and traveled around 833 miles before derailing in the state of Bihar near the city of Raghunathpur.
Deepak Kumar, a responding police officer at the scene, told reporters at the time that the lack of sunlight imposed on rescuers by the late hour of the crash was hampering efforts to get those who were injured rushed to area hospitals. In spite of the darkness, police and first responders extricated the many dozens of victims from the wreckage and transported them to nearby medical centers, Kumar said.
Train travel is common throughout India and derailments are not unheard of. About 14,000 trains and 12 million passengers crisscross the subcontinent every day.
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