India - train disaster

Seven dead, dozens wounded after express train derails

Article published on the 2009-11-14 Latest update 2009-11-14 15:48 TU

Onlookers stand beside derailed carriages of the passenger train near Banshkov village
(Photo: Reuters)

A Delhi-bound express train derailed in the western Indian state of Rajasthan on Saturday, killing seven people and injuring around 26. All 15 carriages of the high-speed Mandore Express, connecting the city of Jodhpur and the capital, Delhi, jumped the tracks.

Senior police officer Kiran Soni Gupta said that seven people had died in the early morning accident outside the desert city of Jaipur. "The injured have been admitted to government hospital," he said.

Rescuers, working with mechanical cutters and surrounded by a huge crowd of onlookers, were battling to free people trapped in three carriages that had overturned.

The state-run railway system - still the main form of long-distance travel in India despite fierce competition from new private airlines - carries 18.5 million people daily.

There are 300 accidents on the railways every year. In October, at least 22 people were killed and 17 injured when an express train ploughed into the back of another passenger train in northern India.