At least three persons were killed and 17 others injured when the Kanpur-bound Kalindi Express rammed into the stationary Shram Shakti Express near Tundla early Saturday amid poor visibility, the fourth fog-related train mishap in the last fortnight.
The Bhiwani-Kanpur Central Kalindi Express hit the stationary train from behind near Mitawali-Tundla crossing at around 8.10 am, railway officials said. Tundla is 409 kms from Allahabad.
The guard van and a coach of Shram Shakti Express, going from Delhi to Kanpur, were badly damaged and derailed.
"Three persons have been killed and 17 others injured," North-Central Railway spokesperson R D Vajpai said. The dead included two women and a three-year-old child. Among the injured were two drivers of the Kalindi Express.
Cracking the whip, Railways suspended Divisional Railway Manager (Allahabad) S K Agarwal, senior Divisional Mechanical Engineer Vinit Singh and two drivers of Kalindi Express--Ram Prakash and Satpal Singh Yadav were suspended.
With dense fog continuing be a cause of concern, Railways issued revised guidelines under which trains have to halt for five minutes instead of two minutes at the red signal.
The Railway Ministry ordered an inquiry by Commissioner, Railway Safety, P K Vajpayee into the accident.
{{/usCountry}}The Railway Ministry ordered an inquiry by Commissioner, Railway Safety, P K Vajpayee into the accident.
{{/usCountry}}An ex-gratia amount of Rs five lakh was announced for the next of kin of the dead, Rs one lakh to those seriously injured and Rs 10,000 to those with simple injuries, Railway Ministry spokesperson Anil Kumar Saxena said in Delhi.