Train derails in India, 22 passengers injured

The Howrah-Mumbai Express derailed near the city of Jamshedpur in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand in the early hours of July 30. "At least two people have died and 20 people are injured," Indian Railways spokesman Om Prakash Charan said.

The accident occurred at the same time as a freight train traveling in the opposite direction derailed, possibly colliding with the passenger train as it passed. "There was another freight train derailment nearby, but it is not clear whether the two accidents happened at the same time," Mr Charan said.

Eighteen carriages were thrown off the tracks and rescue operations were underway to clear the scene, Charan added.

The Howrah-Mumbai Express train derailed near Jamshedpur in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand on July 30. Photo: AFP

India has launched a $30 billion rail infrastructure modernization project to connect and boost the economy. But analysts say that while accidents have declined over time, India's outdated rail system still has many shortcomings.

Last year, nearly 300 people were killed when a passenger train collided with a stationary freight train, then the derailed carriages hit another passenger train traveling at high speed.

India's worst rail accident occurred in 1981, when a cyclone blew a train off the tracks and into a river in Bihar state, killing 800 people and injuring more than 100.

Indian Railways, the world's fourth largest rail network, operates about 14,000 trains a day with 8,000 locomotives on a vast track network of about 64,000 km. The trains carry more than 21 million people every day.

Hoai Phuong (according to AFP)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/lai-tai-nan-tau-hoa-o-an-do-22-hanh-khach-thuong-vong-post305550.html