Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has instructed Chairman of the Railway Board and member traffic to oversee rescue and relief operations after five coaches of the Puri-Haridwar Kalinga Utkal Express derailed in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar area on Saturday evening. The Railway Minister has also rushed medical vans to the area and all efforts are being taken to ensure speedy rescue operations, Prabhu said ”All efforts are being taken to ensure that speedy rescue and relief operations take place”. The Railway Minister is also personally monitoring the situation and has ordered a probe to ascertain the cause of the derailment. Anil Saxena, spokesperson of Indian Railways has said that five coaches of the train derailed at 5:50 PM today, according to newswire service ANI.
Suresh Prabhu also said that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has promised all possible assistance, Prabhu said ”I am in close touch with the CM Adityanath, he has said that officials at state and district level will coordinate the rescue and relief operations”. Uttar Pradesh CM Adityanath has meanwhile said that all possible assistance will be provided by the state government and those injured in the mishap will be given complete treatment, according to newswire service ANI.
The National Disaster Response Force has sent a team of 44 rescuers and two search dogss to the site of the mishap in Khatauli in Muzaffarnagar to assist in the rescue and relief operations. The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (UP ATS) has also sent a team to the accident site to probe whether the train derailment was linked to terror activities, according to ANI.
