Family members are mourning their lost loved ones as India reels from a deadly train crash. More than 140 people were killed when several train cars derailed in northern Uttar Pradesh. The train swerved off the tracks near the village of Purwa, about 65km (40 miles) from the industrial town of Kanpur at 3am on Sunday. Witnesses described being jolted awake as 14 carriages crumpled into one another, leaving hundreds of people trapped for hours on Sunday morning. An Uttar Pradesh official gave the updated death toll on Monday afternoon. Doctors said 116 of the victims had been identified. Dozens more are grievously injured and are fighting for their lives in nearby hospitals.
AC Ravinder, a rescue worker with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) spent Sunday night digging through the mangled remains of the carriages searching for survivors or bodies. “We pulled six people alive from the crash site overnight. But now, I’d say there are no more survivors remaining in the carriages. There is no more hope of finding anyone alive.”
Cranes and gas cutters were used to separate the shattered compartments, as army, police and emergency NDRF units searched the site. By Monday afternoon, rescue workers had lifted the last of the 14 wrecked cars from the tracks, finding no more bodies beneath. Late on Sunday, railway minister Suresh Prabhu visited the site and met victims’ relatives. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “anguished beyond words” for the bereaved families.
Witnesses described the horror of the train accident, the worst in India since 2010. “There was a loud sound like an earthquake. I fell from my berth and a lot of luggage fell over me,” Ramchandra Tewari, who suffered a head injury, told the Associated Press. “I thought I was dead, and then I passed out.”
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