At least nine people die after train derailment in eastern India

At least nine people died and 36 were injured after a passenger train derailed in eastern India on Thursday, according to Indian Railways.

The railway operator’s spokesman, Rajesh Bajpai, said four of the express train’s 12 cars went off the tracks. “It appears that there are no more people trapped in the wagons,” said another spokesperson, Gurmeet Kaur. Workers were restoring the track to allow other trains to pass, he added.

Initial assessments suggest there was a crack in the tracks, CNN affiliate News-18 reported, citing local officials.

The chief minister of the state where the accident occurred, Mamata Banerjee, said she was “deeply concerned to learn of the tragic accident”. “The injured will receive medical attention as soon as possible,” she wrote on social media.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his “thoughts are with the bereaved families” and wished the injured a speedy recovery.

India’s extensive rail network suffers from aging infrastructure and poor maintenance – factors that are often responsible for accidents.

In 2020, nearly 12,000 people died in more than 13,000 train accidents across the country, according to a report last year by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

One of the deadliest incidents in recent years occurred in November 2016, when more than 140 people died after several train cars derailed in northern Uttar Pradesh.

The following November, at least 39 people died and another 50 were seriously injured in a train derailment in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.