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 At least 108 dead in Indian train collisionRescuers still searching for missing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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KHANNA, India (CNN) -- An express train slammed into another passenger train that had vaulted off its tracks in northwestern India on Thursday, killing at least 108 people and injuring 250.
The crash occurred at about 3:35 a.m. (2205 GMT Wednesday), 250 kilometers (150 miles) northwest of New Delhi.
Three rear cars of the Amritsar-bound Frontier Mail from New Delhi jumped the tracks between the towns of Khanna and Payal in the wheat-growing district of Punjab state.
Railway Minister Nitish Kumar said a coupling between two coaches of the Frontier Mail had broken, derailing the train. Barely a minute later, the Calcutta-bound Sealdah Express coming from Jammu on a parallel track collided with the derailed cars.
Kumar said 73 bodies had been extricated from the mangled coaches and another 35 were being pulled out.
"There still are some passengers in the coaches...some may be injured, some may be dead," said Punjab Director General of Police P.S. Dogra.
The engine and four cars of the express train were crumpled like balls of paper in the impact. In all, 16 cars were damaged in the accident, the worst in three years in India.
Rescue workers took 250 people to local government hospitals and private medical facilities. Most of the victims were in a state of shock and some could barely speak.
Ram Kumar, one of the injured passengers, said: "Most passengers were asleep when the accident took place. I was also asleep on my seat. Suddenly I heard a loud thud and I fell down from my seat. I was unconscious and later, when I regained consciousness, I was in the hospital bed."
"I was awakened by a jolt as the train came to a screeching halt," said Usha Rani, a survivor from the Frontier Mail who was on her way to attend a wedding. "Before I could realize what has happened, the Sealdah Express came and collided with the derailed coaches."
More than a thousand people, many of them disconsolate relatives of the passengers, gathered at the site.
Farmers shone headlights of cars or tractors on the wreckage. Others offered tea, bread or blankets and sweaters since many passengers were dressed in night clothes or had lost their belongings, said Shiv Kumar, a businessman who joined the rescue efforts.
Hours after the accident, many people were still trapped inside the cars.
"They are shrieking. Some are saying, 'Cut off my legs. Cut off my hands. Just rescue me.' I saw one woman who is still trapped inside. Her legs are dangling from the compartment, but they are not able to rescue her because the compartment is at the bottom." Ashok Kumar said.
Police rigged up loudspeakers to frequently announce that help was on the way. Others were shouting words of encouragement to those trapped inside.
New Delhi Bureau Chief Anita Pratap, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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