Eighteen passengers were killed and more than 145 injured when the Diva-Sawantwadi Road passenger train derailed outside a tunnel in Raigad district on Sunday.
The engine and four coaches overturned near Nidi village, between Nagothane and Roha, at 9.40 a.m.
Most of the injured are being treated at the Roha government hospital and the rest at the Nagothane primary health centre. Some of the bodies have been taken to the primary health centre and others to the hospital for post-mortem, the police control room said.
A three-month-old girl is possibly the youngest victim. Authorities are yet to track down her parents. “The local people brought her to our hospital and we later transferred her to JJ Hospital in Mumbai,” an official of the Roha hospital said.
“I was just done with my breakfast when we suddenly felt a jolt followed by a huge thud. The adjacent coach and the two coaches behind had overturned. I drew my children close to me and somehow managed to get out of the coach,” a passenger said.
Railways have set up a helpline: (022) 253 34840. The Konkan Railway helpline numbers are (02352) 228 176/951/954 and (022) 275 61721/3/4. “All passengers were moved from the accident site by 11 a.m.,” S.K. Sood, General Manager, Central Railway, told The Hindu .
“Medical teams were dispatched to the spot. Cranes were pressed into action to clear the debris,” Railway Board Chairman Arunendra Kumar said. Commissioner of Railway Safety Chetan Bakshi will conduct an inquiry.
Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge announced an ex gratia of Rs. 2 lakh to the next of kin of the dead, Rs. 50,000 to the grievously injured and Rs. 10,000 to persons who sustained minor injuries.
(Additional reporting
from PTI)
145 persons were
injured after four
coaches overturned