Sealdah-Ajmer Express derailment: Railways contradicts reports of loss of lives

New Delhi [India], Dec. 28(ANI): The Indian Railways on Wednesday rubbished media reports suggesting that there has been loss of lives in the Sealdah-Ajmer Express derailment. "No one has been killed in the accident contrary to the media reports in that view. Everybody is safe," Indian Railways spokesperson Anil Saxena said. At least 55 people were injured when 15 coaches of the Sealdah-Ajmer express train derailed near Rura railway station in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur dehat district this morning. The mishap took place at around 5:20 a.m. "A rescue team has rushed to the spot and a medical relief train from Kanpur has also been sent to the accident site. Currently, we are focusing on relief and rescue operations," Saxena said. "As per preliminary reports, 15 coaches of the train got derailed," he added. When asked about the reason of derailment, he said, "There was dense fog in the morning". Saxena added that all senior officials have reached the spot along with the medical team and one battalion of the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF). "Relief and rescue operation is going on at war footing. We are in the struggle of rescuing the stranded passengers," he said. Five trains have been cancelled and 29 trains have been diverted post this incident. "Cancelled trains include up- down Kanpur Shatabdi, Delhi Azamghar express, Delhi- Lucknow Gomti express. Trains have been diverted via Mugalsarai, Varanasi-Lucknow, Jhansi-Agra section, Palwal Mathura section," he added. Saxena further said that every accident is unfortunate and a sad experience for the Railways, adding they take every mishap as a challenge and with utmost seriousness. The Railways spokesperson also elaborated on the Zero Accident mission. "We have Zero Accident mission with an action plan and we need to implement the road map," he said. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 50,000 for critically injured and Rs. 25,000 for those with minor injuries. (ANI)