July 11, 2011 2:43 PM

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Kalka Mail derailment: Death toll rises to 65

The death toll in yesterday's Kalka Mail train accident near Malwa Railway Station in Fatehpur district of Uttar Pradesh has gone up to sixty five. The North Central Railway Chief PRO Sandeep Mathur told our Allahabad correspondent that two of the victims are Swedish citizens. He said, about 250 passengers have been injured in the accident . Railway traffic on Howara Delhi route is still affected and the railway line between Allahabad – Kanpur section is still blocked. Rescue teams are still engaged in cutting the coaches open to rescue trapped passengers form the mangled coaches at the accident site. The death toll is likely to go up as many passengers are still trapped inside the coaches.Meanwhile, more than 60 trains have been diverted through routes between Howra and Delhi, at least 30 trains have been cancelled so far. Railway authorities said that some more trains may be cancelled today. The Army and Air force have also been assisting casualty evacuation and relief work alongwith Railway and district admisntration teams.Seven Indian Airforce aircrafts have already been pressed in for relief and rescue work. The Minister of state for Railways K H Muniappa had visited the train accident site last evening and also met the injured in the hospital. Our correspondent reports, Twelve of the injured passengers have been brought to Allahabad for treatment and been admitted in S R N Hospital.The Railways had announced compensation of five lakh rupees for the family of victims of this accident while one lakh rupees will be given to seriously injured and 25 thousand to those who got minor injuries. The Uttar Pradesh Government has also announced one lakh rupees financial asstance for the dependents of victims and 50 thousand for seriously injured and 25 thousand for those having minor injuries.The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Mrs. Sonia Gandhi have expressed deep shock and sorrow at the loss of lives in the train mishap. According to North Central railway eight more trains have been cancelled today so far, while 24 trains are being run through the diverted route. Since Sunday more than 35 trains have been cancelled.

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