Probe begins into Indore-Patna Express derailment that claimed 145 lives

A high-level probe into the derailment of 14 coaches of the Indore-Patna Express train here that killed 145 people began on Monday.

The probe into Sunday’s derailment was ordered by the Railways shortly after the accident.

The commissioner of railway safety reached Pukhrayan, the site of the accident, nearly 32 hours after tragedy struck around 3:10am on Sunday. North Central Railway (NCR) officials confirmed that commissioner of railway safety (Eastern) PK Acharya was inspecting the scene.

The commissioner pulled up officials for negligence, pointing out corroded parts of one of the damaged bogies. He has seized 18 such parts for investigation. The entire inspection was recorded on video.

The tracks were being examined to look into the possibility of a crack having caused India’s worst train tragedy in six years. Other possible causes will also be investigated.

Officials say cracks on the track are a common phenomenon in winter.

A National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) official said the possibility of finding survivors in the wreckage was bleak, even as rescue operations continued on Monday.

The NCR officials said track restoration work would start only after the rescue efforts have ended.

“The NDRF men are at work. Two bogies are still lying on the railway track and they need to be removed. The high tension lines and the track need to be fixed. It will take another 12 hours to restore train movement on this track on the Kanpur-Jhansi route,” said Amit Malaviya, public relations officer, NCR.

Four trains were cancelled and 14 others were diverted on Sunday.

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