Utkal Express mishap: Maintenance work was being carried out on tracks, investigations underway, says Railways

New Delhi: A day after the Kalinga Utkal Express derailed near Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh, Mohammed Jamshed, Member (Traffic), Railway Board on Sunday said that maintenance work was being carried out on the tracks.

However, an investigation will reveal what caused the deadly mishap. 

Addressing a press conference over the tragic incident, the railway ministry confirmed that the train disaster has claimed 20 lives and left 92 injured out of which 22 were in critical condition. 

As per directions of Railway Min, strict action will be taken against those found guilty prima facie : Mohd Jamshed #UtkalExpressDerailment pic.twitter.com/mmhgNGVLCb — ANI (@ANI) August 20, 2017

Terming the train accident unfortunate, Jamshed said that the Northern circle will begin an enquiry from Monday and action will be taken against those who are found prima facie guilty in the incident.

It was an unfortunate incident,around 20 people died and 92 injured: Mohammad Jamshed,(Member,Traffic Railway Board) #UtkalExpressDerailment pic.twitter.com/Baazb9bkTp — ANI (@ANI) August 20, 2017

"Traffic on the line will be restored around 10 pm," said the official. 

Traffic on the line will be restored around 10 pm: Mohd Jamshed (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Member Traffic, Railway Board) #UtkalExpressDerailment pic.twitter.com/xaUTrI3PnE — ANI (@ANI) August 20, 2017

Meanwhile, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu directed the chairman of the Railway Board to fix responsibility on "prima facie evidence by the end of day" for the derailment.

He had ordered an inquiry into the accident yesterday.

As per the reports of PTI, the railways have deployed high-tech cranes and scores of workers to clear the tracks near Khatauli.

Two 140-tonne cranes were being used from early morning today to clear derailed coaches, from which survivors had been rescued and bodies pulled out till late last night.

Rescue operation by the National Disaster Response Force got over at around 3 AM.

Thirteen coaches of the high-speed Utkal Express, on its way from Puri in Odisha to Haridwar in Uttarakhand, jumped the rails yesterday, with one coach crashing into a house near the tracks.

Prabhu said he was monitoring the situation and that restoration of the tracks was his top priority.

"Restoration is top priority. Seven coaches tackled. Also ensuring best possible medical care for the injured," he tweeted today.

A senior Uttar Pradesh official said 156 people were injured in the derailment.

"A total of 156 people were injured in the Utkal Express train accident and among them many remain critical," Awanish Kumar Awasthi, Principal Secretary (Information), UP government, told PTI on the phone.

"The train had 23 coaches out of which 13 had derailed. It was running at a speed of about 100 kmph when the accident took place," said Delhi Division DRM, R N Singh.

Six of the derailed coaches were severely damaged.

A posse of security personnel from the UP Police, the RPF, PAC and RRF has been deployed at the site of the accident since last evening.

Prabhu has directed senior officials and medical personnel to provide assistance to injured passengers and all possible help to the relatives of the affected passengers.

He also announced a Rs 3.5-lakh ex-gratia compensation to the next of kin of those who lost their lives, Rs 50,000 for the seriously injured and Rs 25,000 for those who received minor injuries.

The injured have been taken to hospitals in Muzaffarnagar and Meerut and both the Railways and the local administration have issued helplines.

Trains passing through the Meerut line of the Northern Railway have either been cancelled or diverted till 6 pm today, a senior railway official said.

"All services on Meerut line, on which Khatauli falls, have been either cancelled or diverted through other routes till 6 PM, as the tracks are yet to be cleared of mangled train coaches," Singh told PTI.

Singh said the diverted trains would run through Shamli till the restoration work was over.

(With inputs from agencies)