9 killed, 80 injured in India train derailment

A broken rail track punctured one car and killed some of the passengers, Pande told The Associated Press. Rescuers used machinery to cut open some of the cars to free trapped passengers, he said. Nineteen people were hospitalized with injuries, three of them in serious condition, Pande said, and more than 60 people with minor injuries had left for their homes after treatment.

The accident occurred near Banshkov, a village nearly 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan state. Accidents are common on India's sprawling rail network, one of the world's largest, with most blamed on poor maintenance. Last month, a passenger train crashed into another train's rear carriage in northern India, killing 22 people and injuring 16 near Agra.

India's more than 150-year-old railway network is the second-largest in the world and the largest in Asia, with 108,706 kilometers of track. The railways, which transports over 18 million passengers and more than 2 million tons of freight daily, has a poor safety record. There were 194 train accidents in India between March 1, 2007 and March 31, 2008, according to government data.

Subscribe to The China Post and save 25%. Click here

SharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email