The Hindu : 23 killed in Maharashtra train accident

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 24, 2003

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23 killed in Maharashtra train accident

By Our Special Correspondent

Rescue workers helping survivors come out of the coaches of a train that derailed at Vaibhavwadi, 500 km south of Mumbai, on Sunday. — AP

MUMBAI JUNE 23. At least 23 persons died and another 25 were injured when some coaches of the Karwar-Mumbai holiday special train derailed late on Sunday night between Rajapur and Vibhavwadi in Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra following a heavy landslide.

Ten minutes after leaving Kankavali station, the train smashed into some boulders that had fallen on to the track at the mouth of the Narli Tunnel following the landslide. Under the impact, four coaches went off the track. After the accident, all trains on the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg section of the Konkan Railway, which links Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra, were cancelled.

Heavy rain and poor visibility may have affected rescue operations but locals and passengers from other coaches joined in. Poor access to the accident site and the pitch darkness did not make the task easy.

Officials in the Konkan Railway, which was dedicated to the nation in 1997, said the injured were admitted to hospitals in Kankawali and Oras while the stranded passengers were moved to their destinations by road. The coaches which remained on the track were towed to Kankawali.

During the monsoon, landslides are common in the Konkan region which receives the highest precipitation compared to the State's other regions.

The Mangalore-Ahmedabad Special of June 21 and the Netravati Express also of June 21 as well as the Mangla Express were diverted via Hubli. The Netravati express of June 22 was diverted via Ratnagiri, Kalyan and Pune to Trivandrum. The Dadar-Ernakulam Express of June 22 was terminated at Veer and the Madgaon-Mumbai CST Holiday Special was "regulated" at Ratnagiri; it was not explained what it meant — cancellation or unspecified delay. Sources said, traffic on the section could be restored early on Tuesday.

Train derails

Our Patna Staff Correspondent reports:

A general coach of the New Delhi-Malda Farakka Express derailed when its wheels overshot the track at the outer signal of the Dasrathpur railway station in Munger district of Bihar today.

Officials have begun enquiries to ascertain the cause of the derailment which upset train services on the Kiul-Jamalpur section under Malda Division of Eastern Railway.

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