Another accident on Konkan line

At least 14 people were killed and 62 injured when Matsyagandha Express derailed after hitting a boulder in the ghat area of Konkan on Wednesday morning.

At least 14 people were killed and 62 injured when the Matsyagandha Express derailed after hitting a boulder in the ghat area of Konkan early on Wednesday morning. The train was travelling between Mangalore and Mumbai.

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That was the official toll -- other estimates put the number of dead at up to 20 and those injured at around 100.

Last year, 50 people were killed when the Mumbai-Karwar Express rammed into a bridge. That time too, boulders on the track — owing to landslides — were the culprit.

Wednesday’s incident took place at around 6 a.m. when the train was about to reach the Amboli bridge. It hit the boulder, skidded about 100 metres and came to a halt on the bridge. Several coaches then overturned on both sides of the gorge. The brunt of the damage was borne by coaches near the engine.

An official of the Konkan Railway Corporation said bad weather was holding up rescue work, as also the fact that there was only a single line in this area, which meant that trains could not be moved there to aid the operations. He said it would take three days to clear the debris.

Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav, who was in Kolkata during the day, left for the site of the accident and was scheduled to reach late at night.