15 coaches of the Sealdah-Ajmer Express has been derailed near Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh this morning. Two persons have been killed and 43 more were injured in the accident.

Zaki Ahmed, senior police officer said that, two of the passengers, who had been brought out of the wrecked coaches have died in hospital. Eight people were believed to be in a critical state.

In dense early morning fog, the coaches went off track when the train had been crossing a bridge over a dry canal, nearly 70 km from Kanpur. Two coaches had toppled off the bridge and fell into the canal bed.

The accident took place around 5.20 AM The cause is not known yet. According to Rizwan Chaudhary a passenger, that he had been woken up by a loud bang, "Our coach tilted to one side. I jumped out and saw a few coaches were derailed".

A medical relief train from Kanpur had already been sent to the accident site. Railway spokesperson Anil Saxena informed, "Currently we are focusing on relief and rescue operations".

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Javeed Ahmed, Uttar Pradesh's top police officer, said that all the passengers have been brought out of the derailed coaches. Television images had shown that coaches were lying on the sides of the railway track.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu tweeted, "Immediate medical help being provided to the injured. Mobilized resources,directed all concerned to ensure rescue and relief”. He added, "Thorough investigation will be carried out to ascertain the cause”.

This is the second rail accident in the region in two months. On November 20, around 150 passengers had been killed in their sleep and nearly 200 injured after the Indore-Patna Express train slid off track near Kanpur.

By Prakriti Neogi