In the worst train accident in Kerala in recent times, at least 43 people (33 men, 8 women and 2 children) werekilled and 258 injured, 238 of them seriously, when eight bogies of Chennai-boundMangalore Mail derailed over a bridge with four coaches plunging into the Kadalundiriver, 10 kms from Kozhikode, this evening. (The final figures are likely to be different as the latest reports put the number of dead at 49 already)
The rescuers were till late in the night engaged in extricating those trapped in fourbogies partially submerged in water. When reports last came in, navy was reported to have pressed into action a 21-member diving team forrelief and rescue operations.
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Eight bogies of the ill-fated train had derailed. Four bogies, an air conditioned sleeper, two unreserved and onewomen cum guard coach fell into the river, they said, adding three were stranded on the track and another was hanging.
The cause of the accident was not immediately known but Kozhikode district collectorVishwanath Sinha said it could be due to one of the pillars of the bridge collapsing.
Rescue operations undertaken by the police, fire brigade personnel and rapid action force with the help oflocals were being hampered by rains and bad light.
Many lives were saved as the river was shallow. Rescue operations were conducted from a new bridge under construction.
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According to the district administration, at least 300 people have been saved from the waters and rushed to theKozhikode medical college and Koyas hospitals due to timely intervention of the local people who gathered in large numbers as soonthe accident occurred.
Arrangements were being made to take stranded passengers from the accident site to nearby towns from where they canproceed on their onward journey.
Police said many of the deaths took place because of the head injuries suffered by victims due to impact of thefall.
Eyewitnesses said the accident could have been caused by a breach in the bridge at the confluence ofKadalundi river and the Arabian Sea. The area had been receiving heavy monsoon rains which also hamperedrescue operations by railway, police and civil official teams.
Information remains sketchy as communication links remain badly affectedbecause of heavy rain in the accident site of Malapuram district but the policesaid rescuers used gas cutters and cranes to extricate a
bogie heavily immersed in the slush.
A crisis management group has been set up in Thiruvananthapuram with the chief secretary as its head.Chief minister A.K.Antony has rushed to Kozhikode to supervise the rescue operations.
In Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala industries minister P.K.Kunhalikuttyrescue had saidthat operations to fish out the remaining bodies and extricate the four bogies ofthe Mangalore-Chennai mail would continue throughout the night.
Union Railway Minister, Railway Board Chairman Leave For Site
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Railway minister Nitish Kumar, accompanied by railway board chairman Asokh Kumar, will beleaving tonight to the site where the Mangalore-Chennai Mail plunged into the Kadalundiriver.
Southern railway sources said Railway Board member Thoopal and Southern Railway general managerAjit Kishore would accompany them in a special train leaving from Chennai.
A special train has already left for the accident site, with the chief engineer and other top officials.
Men and materials were being rushed to the accident site from Kozhikode, the sources added.
The southern railway has set up a special telephone booth at Kadalundi station. The telephone number is049- 5472200.
Bogies Derailed With Thundering Sound:
Unending cries for help were heard for at least two hours from the Kadalundi river waters, wherefour of the eight derailed bogies of the Mangalore-Chennai Mail submerged, claiming the lives of at least42 passengers so far and leaving over 200 injured, eyewitnesses said.
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"It was with a thundering sound that the bogies derailed into the river. In the next few seconds all that we couldsee was several passengers submerged in the river."
Even as police, fire force and rapid action force personnel began arriving at the site, local people braved heavyrains to fish out the dead and injured, they said, adding the casualties would have been much more, but for thetimely help from the villagers.
Vehicular traffic came to a standstill within minutes and bad light and rains hampered rescue operations, they said.
'Breach In Track Probably Led To Mishap'
Breaches in the track probably caused the derailment of eight bogies of the Mangalore-MhennaiMail, railway sources and eyewitnesses said.
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"Since the train was reportedly travelling at a normal speed, suspicion points to breaches in the single-line trackleading to the derailment," railway sources said.
However, the real cause of the mishap was yet to be ascertained, they said.
Anxious Relatives
Meanwhile in Mangalore anxious relatives of passengers of the ill-fated traingathered in front of the railway station here today, seeking more information asthe news about its derailment in Kerala spread.
A total of 450 passengers had boarded the ill-fated train when it left here this morning before four of its bogiesplunged into the Kadalundi river near Kozhikode in Kerala, about 240 km from here, railway sources said.
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The train had 19 bogies at the time of departure at 1115 hrs, the sources said.
Several relatives also left for the accident spot to know the fate of their near ones, they said.
An information centre (with telephone no.0824-423137) has been opened here to provide information, the sources added.
Helpline Numbers:
Chennai: 044-5354854
Mangalore: 08534-423137
Kerala: 0495-371400 / 701499
