5 die as New Farakka Express derails in Uttar Pradesh's Raebareli: NDRF rush for rescue and relief operations

Five people have been killed and several others are injured after six coaches of the New Farakka Express train (14003) derailed 50 metres from Harchandpur railway station in Uttar Pradesh’s Raebareli on Wednesday morning. Several other passengers are feared trapped, reports said. The accident took place near Harchandpur in Rae Bareli district at around 6.05 am, Northern Railway Divisional Railway Manager Satish Kumar said. [caption id=“attachment_5349611” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Six coaches of New Farakka Express train derailed 50 metres from Harchandpur railway station. 101 Reporters/Amresh Patel[/caption] National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams from Lucknow and Varanasi have been deployed to conduct rescue and relief operations, ANI reported. A team of doctors in an Accident Relief Medical Van has been rushed to the site in Lucknow and emergency helpline numbers have been set up at the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya junction, Mughalsarai, officials said. All up and down lines on the route have been blocked and officials suspect that the number of casualties may rise. Meanwhile, sources said Chairman Railway Board Ashwani Lohani was on his way to the accident site. Taking note of the incident, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath directed the district magistrate, the superintendent of police, health authorities and the NDRF to provide all possible assistance to relief and rescue operations, an official spokesman said. He expressed his condolences for the deceased and directed to the director general of police to take all necessary action, he added. With inputs from PTI