UP train collision claims six lives

Lucknow: At least six people were killed and scores injured Monday when an express train Monday rammed into a stationary goods train in Uttar Pradesh's Sant Kabeernagar district, officials said.

The accident took place around 11 a.m. and police feared the number of casualties could be much higher.

An official said over 50 people have been admitted to various medical facilities.

As a result of the impact of the collision, six coaches of Gorakhdham Express - one AC coach, one sleeper, and four general - were derailed.

Sant Kabeernagar is about 230 km from here.

Senior officials of the Northern and North Eastern Railways rushed to the accident site, which is little ahead of Khalilabad station.

Senior railway officials refused to confirm the number of dead and said that the priority as of now was to rescue the injured and send them to hospitals.

District officials said the accident was very "grave and many bogeys had been thrown up several feet in the air".

The express train was headed to Gorakhpur from New Delhi. The first six coaches of the Gorakhdham train have been severely damaged.

The station Officer (Government Railway Police) of Basti told IANS that the most difficult task for the people involved in the rescue was to extract bodies from the coaches which have climbed over the goods train.

Reaching the accident site is also a big challenge as it lies three km off the national highway.

Poor weather in the area is also hampering the rescue and relief operations, officials said.

Ambulances, medical teams and a relief train have been rushed to the crash site from Gorakhpur.