India: Passenger train derails in Uttar Pradesh

At least one passenger was killed and several were injured after ten coaches derailed in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, local media reported.

The train, a 22-car passenger service that operated along a 2,640-kilometer (1640-mile) stretch of the country, is believed to have jumped its tracks.

What more do we know about the accident?

Television footage showed passengers sitting outside the Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express, which connects northern India to Assam in the east, with piles of luggage.

"The train accident in Gonda district is extremely sad," Uttar Pradesh state chief minister Yogi Adityanath posted on social media platform X.  

"District administration officials have been directed to carry out relief and rescue operations on a war footing and to take the injured to the hospital," he added. 

The broadcaster NDTV reported that at least four carriages had overturned at the accident site in Gonda district.

India's railway network remains the most popular form of transportation in country, although rail infrastructure has lacked funding and deadly accidents remain common.

Analysts say that, while accidents have reduced over time, the antiquated system still needs a lot of work.

According to official records, an average of about 20,000 people died each year between 2017 and 2021 in rail accidents due to derailments, crashes and other causes.

India's top auditing authority found that poor maintenance and old signaling equipment, as well as human error, were the main cause of derailments. 

Last year, nearly 300 people were killed when a passenger train collided with a stationary freight train.

es/fb (AP, AFP, Reuters)