MP train accident: 37 killed, 25 injured
Atleast 37 people were killed as two express trains derailed within minutes of each other on flooded tracks while crossing a railway bridge in Harda district of Madhya Pradesh in the dead of night and plunged into the swollen Machak river.
One of the trains was on its way to Mumbai when the accident happened in a remote area of the central Madhya Pradesh state, while the other was travelling in the opposite direction.
MP Government spokesman Anupam Rajan said, '29 bodies, including those of 13 men, 11 women and five children, have been recovered so far from the mishap site between Khirkiya and Harda, about 160 km from Bhopal.' Over 250 passengers have been rescued, a railway official said.
'The prima facie cause of the incident is stated to be 'flash flood due to heavy rains',' Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu told the Rajya Sabha amid the din by slogan-shouting opposition members.
Railways have announced ex-gratia of Rs two lakh for the next of the kin of passengers who died in the mishaps, Rs 50,000 for those grievously injured and Rs 25,000 for passengers with minor injuries.
News Posted: 5 August, 2015
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