At 12 least people have died and 45 have been left seriously injured, according to North-Eastern Railway General Manager Madhuresh Kumar, after the Krishak Express hit the Lucknow-Barauni Express near Gorakhpur late on Tuesday night.
“Minister of Railways has expressed profound grief over loss of innocent lives. He has announced enhanced ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh for family members of the dead, Rs. 1 lakh for seriously injured and Rs. 20,000 for those injured non-critically. He also directed to provide best treatment to the injured,” Railways spokesperson Anil Saxena said.
Meanwhile, Railway Board chairman Arunendra Kumar told ANI, “The pilot of Lucknow-Barauni express couldn’t stop at an authorized signal, why that happened needs to be looked into. The train track has been cleared and operations are to begin soon.”
At 11.15 pm last night, the Krishak Express had a side-collision when its locomotive collided with a moving train, the Lucknow-Barauni Express, near the Gorakhpur Cant station. The eighth and ninth coaches capsized, while the seventh coach was derailed.
Ram Kumar Chaudhary, a passenger on the Lucknow-Barauni Express who was injured in the accident, told ANI, “We were all asleep when we heard a loud bang and felt a large jolt. The next we knew was that all the passengers were piled one on top of the other and the coach was lying on its side.”
The Krishak Express was travelling from Varanasi to Gorakhpur while the Lucknow-Barauni Express was going from Lucknow to Barauni.
—ANI