CALICUT/BANGALORE, 23 June — Six compartments of a passenger train derailed and three of them plunged into a river in southern India yesterday killing more than 50 people and injuring over 200, according to Press Trust of India news agency. A senior railway official monitoring the rescue operations at the accident site told AFP over the phone that a team of divers had found 29 bodies.
“It is difficult to predict how high the toll will be. More bodies could be recovered later... We are still searching for survivors,” said the official who did not want to be named. “Our rescue operations have been hampered by heavy rains,” he added. Star TV had earlier reported that 19 people had been killed and 15 “grievously” wounded. The six wagons of the Mangalore-Chennai Mail left the tracks as the train was crossing a bridge over the Kadalundi River near the city of Calicut in the southern state of Kerala at around 5:20 p.m.
Kerala Industries Minister P. K. Kunhalikkutty told AFP by telephone from the accident site that the three coaches in the river were only “partially submerged.” The minister would only confirm a figure of eight dead, but said more than 100 passengers had been injured.
“I don’t think there will be very heavy casualties,” he said. “But the rescue work is difficult as it is still raining very heavily and there is no light or heavy lifting equipment.” Calicut Deputy Collector Vishwanath Sinha said the water level in the river was quite low, despite the heavy rains that officials said contributed to the derailment. “Some of the wagons are half submerged in the water and they are visible from the bank,” Sinha told Star TV.
“Most people managed to get out with the help of local villagers,” he added. Sinha said one of the pillars of the bridge appeared to have collapsed. The train was full of office workers returning home. Indian trains traveling at peak hours are often overcrowded. Railways Minister Nitish Kumar had left Delhi for Madras, from where he would travel to the site of the accident.
