Passenger train derails in western India, killing at least 10, injuring 57 others

5/4/2014
ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW DELHI — A passenger train derailed in western India today, killing at least 10 people and injuring 57 others.

The engine and four coaches jumped the tracks near Roha station, 70 miles south of Mumbai, said police officer Ankush Shinde.

The rescuers used gas cutters to open the derailed coaches to reach those trapped inside. Big cranes were deployed to remove these coaches from the rail track, Shinde said.

Two of the derailed coaches tilted on one side, said railway spokesman Anil Kumar Saxena.

Shinde said that 57 injured passengers, some of them in serious condition, were taken to a hospital.

The cause of the accident was not immediately known.

Train movement in the area was suspended as the derailed coaches and the rescue operation blocked an adjacent track as well.

Railway accidents are common in India, which has one of the world’s largest train networks and serves 20 million passengers a day. Most accidents are blamed on poor maintenance and human error.