5 killed, 10 injured as Mangala Express derails near Nasik

At least five people have reportedly been killed and 10 others injured as several coaches of Mangala Express, travelling from New Delhi to Ernakulam, derailed near Nasik. Eye witnesses said at least 25 people are still feared trapped inside the mangled rail coaches.

The accident took place at around 6.20 am on Friday when 12618 Nizamuddin-Ernakulam Lakshadeep Mangala Express train was passing through the Ghoti-Igatpuri section, about 35 kms from Nashik, a spokesperson of the central railway said in Mumbai. All those sustained injuries  have been admitted to different hospitals, Ghoti senior Inspector, Bhaskar Jadhav said.

The cause of the accident is yet to be ascertained, the Central Railway official said.

The injured have been rushed to Ghoti rural hospital, Kasara and Nashik civil hospitals, while rescue operations are being carried out with the help of railway police and rural security personnel, police said. Cranes have been pressed into service to lift the derailed coaches, they said.

A senior official at Nashik civil hospital also confirmed the death of two passengers so far and said eight injured victims were admitted in the hospital, five were shifted to a private hospital in the city.

Meanwhile, several stranded passengers were sent by road to Igatpuri and Kasara railway stations, Jadhav said. The Central Railway has set up a helpline number for anxious relatives and kin of the passengers to enquire about them, the official said, adding that a medical relief van has already reached Ghoti.

Following the accident, rail-traffic on the up side was affected, forcing railway authorities to cancel various trains, including Manmad-Kurla-Godavari Express and Manmad-Mumbai Panchavati Express and Manmad-Pune Rajya Rani Express, a railway official at Nashik said.