16 dead, 161 hurt as Coromandel Express derails in Orissa

At least 16 passengers were killed and 161 injured when the Howrah-Chennai Coromandel Express derailed on Friday evening near Jajpur railway station in Orissa. On a day when Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav presented the interim budget saying there has been a sharp decrease in the number of accidents since 2003 and he has been able to change the face of Indian Railway during his tenure, the mishap comes as a shock.Railway helpline numbers: (033) 26411416, 26413660; (044) 25024545, 25024548, 25357387, 25354854

Sixteen passengers were killed and 161 injured on Friday night when 13 bogies of the Chennai-bound Coromandel Express from Howrah derailed near here in Orissa's Jajpur district, 100 km from Bhubaneswar.

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General Manager East Coast Railway Ajay Kumar Goel said that 16 passengers died and 161 others were injured as the 13 bogies of express train which was running at a high speed derailed near Jajpur Road railway station.

Goel who inspected the accident site said that of the 13 bogies, 11 were sleeper class and two general.

The engine of the train overturned, he said.

The cause of the accident was yet to be ascertained, he said.

The mishap, which took place at 8:00 pm, came on a day when Railway Minister Lalu Prasad in his rail budget highlighted the safety record of the Railways and decline in train accidents.

Prasad said a probe will be ordered into the accident.

He announced Rs five lakh and a job for the next of the kin of the dead, Rs 50,000 for the seriously injured and Rs 10,000 for those with minor injuries.

Railway officials said the death toll could go up as some of the injured were in a serious condition.