National

Mumbai train derails, one killed

Mumbai: A 20-year-old man was killed and eight commuters injured, two of them grievously, when a suburban train derailed near Kurla station here on the Central Railway line on Sunday morning.

Four compartments of a Titwala-bound local train derailed between the Kurla and Vidyavihar stations at 11.24 a.m., railway police said, adding that the accident spot was close to a slum.

“It is very difficult to ascertain a reason as to what caused the accident so soon. We have handed over the enquiry to the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), which is an independent body,” Divisional Railway Manager J.N. Lal told PTI here.

He expressed surprise over the incident as a train had passed the same spot at around 11.06 a.m. without a hitch.

Railway Police Commissioner A.K. Sharma said the dead had been identified as Moreshwar Mahadik, who hails from Ratnagiri district in Konkan. Eight passengers were injured. “Two of them were hospitalised and the rest discharged after medical aid,” he said.

The derailment led to diversion and cancellation of many services on the line.

Officials from the Central Railway were busy removing the compartments from the tracks.

The Central Railway announced an ex gratia of Rs.15,000 to the next of kin of the dead and Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 500 each to those who have suffered grievous and simple injuries respectively, a Central Railway spokesperson said.

Two passengers — Prakash Kadam (42) and Parshuram Rathod (25) — were seriously injured while Majru Shekhawat (30), Lalit Dave (30), Hansa Dave (25), Suresh Sasate (30), Mahesh Jagtap (20) and Muthu Selva Nadar (26) suffered minor injuries. — PTI

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