- Title: INDIA-ACCIDENT Indian train accident kills at least 30, leaves 50 injured
- Date: 20th March 2015
- Summary: RAE BARELI, INDIA (MARCH 20, 2015) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI-NO ACCESS BBC) PEOPLE GATHERED AROUND THE TRAIN ACCIDENT SITE PEOPLE GATHERED NEAR THE MANGLED TRAIN COACHES VARIOUS OF PEOPLE GATHERED AROUND MANGLED COACHES TRAIN'S ENGINE VARIOUS OF PEOPLE GATHERED AROUND MANGLED COACHES MAN CUTTING THE COACHES VARIOUS OF PEOPLE GATHERED AROUND MANGLED COACHES VARIOUS OF PEOPLE GATHERED AROUND MANGLED COACHES CLOSE OF POLICE STOPPING OTHERS FROM ENTERING THE ACCIDENT SITE (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) AN UNIDENTIFIED EYE WITNESS, SAYING: "The train was supposed to stop at the Ganga-Gomti crossing. The brakes failed and the train was at a very high speed, which turned it over." CLOSE OF CRUSHED TRAIN COACHES VARIOUS OF PEOPLE GATHERED AROUND THE MANGLED COACHES NEW DELHI, INDIA (MARCH 20, 2015) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI-NO ACCESS BBC) (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) INDIA'S JUNIOR RAILWAY MINISTER, MANOJ SINHA, SAYING: "The dead will get 2 lakhs rupees ((USD 3200.93) and the injured will get 50,000 rupees (USD 800.15). At 2pm (1930 GMT) I will go to the accident site along with railway officers." RAE BARELI, INDIA (MARCH 20, 2015) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI-NO ACCESS BBC) PEOPLE GATHERED AT THE ACCIDENT SITE VARIOUS OF PEOPLE GATHERED AROUND THE MANGLED COACHES CRANE LIFTING A COACH A SIGNBOARD READING IN HINDI CLOSE OF MANGLED COACHES VARIOUS OF PEOPLE GATHERED AROUND THE MANGLED COACHES CRANE IN RESCUE OPERATIONS A BODY BEING TAKEN ON A STRETCHER VARIOUS OF PEOPLE AND SECURITY PERSONNEL GATHERED AT THE ACCIDENT SITE A PERSON ON A STRETCHER BEING TAKEN TO AN AMBULANCE PEOPLE CARRYING A BODY PEOPLE GATHERED AROUND TWO BODIES CLOSE OF A MAN TALKING ON MOBILE PHONE PEOPLE AND SECURITY PERSONNEL GATHERED AROUND AN AMBULANCE SECURITY PERSONNEL CARRYING A BODY VARIOUS OF SECURITY PERSONNEL CARRYING BODIES (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) DEPUTY INSPECTOR GENERAL, A. K. CHATURVEDI, SAYING: "We are taking out the trapped people from the coaches. Some are being found dead and some are injured. The people who have suffered minor injuries are being treated here and the others are being taken to a trauma centre at Lucknow." A SIGNBOARD READING IN HINDI BODIES ON THE GROUND PEOPLE STANDING OUTSIDE A HOSPITAL VARIOUS OF INJURED PEOPLE AND THEIR FAMILIES INSIDE A HOSPITAL
- Embargoed: 5th April 2015 03:27
- Keywords:
- Location: India
- Country: India
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA46ONH4IU5JPS5XZEP4N9NHC5C
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS CONVERTED 4:3 MATERIAL
At least 30 people were killed and 50 injured when an express train overshot a railway signal and some carriages went off the rails in a northern Indian state on Friday (March 20), officials said.
India's creaking railway system is the world's fourth largest, ferrying more than 20 million people each day, but it has a poor safety record, with thousands of people dying in accidents every year.
Friday's accident occurred at Bachhrawan railway station, about 45 km (28 miles) from Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, one of India's most populous states.
"The train was supposed to stop at the Ganga-Gomti crossing. The brakes failed and the train was at a very high speed, which turned it over," said one man at the scene of the accident.
Rescue workers used cutting machines to free passengers and recover the dead bodies, a witness said. Blood was splattered in and around the wreckage.
The country's Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu told parliament said there would be an inquiry into the accident with compensation to be paid to the victims. More than 400 passengers and 85 employees were aboard the train at the time of the accident, a railway official in the capital said.
Successive Indian governments have shied away from modernization of the railways, preferring instead to use the system to provide cheap transport and create jobs.
Prabhu in February vowed to improve safety by bringing in more investments. Last month he unveiled plans to invest $137 billion in the decrepit network over the next five years, largely by raising funds from fresh borrowing and "monetizing" the railways' assets. - Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
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