Utkal Express accident: 23 killed, 80 injured in Muzaffarnagar; repair work underway

At least 23 people killed and over 100 injured after 14 coaches of  Haridwar-Puri Utkal Kalinga Express train derailed in Khatauli near Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh on Saturday evening. The impact of the mishap was so high that one of the coaches rammed into a house adjacent to the track. The accident occured around 5.45 pm near Khatauli, police said. Khatauli is around 40 km from Muzaffarnagar.

The authorities have started repair work to clear the tracks so the rail traffic can be restored on the route.

Puri-Haridwar Utkal Kalinga Express train accident: Track repair work continues #Muzaffarnagar pic.twitter.com/AhHjaRxDbJ

— ANI (@ANI) August 20, 2017

It is said that the driver was not aware of track maintenance at the spot and it seemed a case of negligence of the railway staff.

Puri-Haridwar Utkal Kalinga Express train accident: Track repair work underway #Muzaffarnagar pic.twitter.com/QihJgnJRhD

— ANI (@ANI) August 20, 2017

R N Singh, Divisional Railway Manager, Delhi, said that they are hoping that normal traffic will restore around 9 pm.

We are hopeful that normal traffic will restore around 9 pm: R N Singh, Divisional Railway Manager, Delhi on #UtkalExpressAccident pic.twitter.com/rSdbjWTQ5u

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) August 20, 2017

Uttar Pradesh minister Satish Mahana said that the injured have been admitted to different hospitals.

The authorities have set up a control room to assist families of those affected. The numbers are: 0131- 2436918, 0131-2436103 and 0131-2436564.

According to the ministry, the 14521/14522 Ambala-Delhi-Ambala Intercity Express, 18478 Haridwar-Puri Utkal KalingaExpress and the 14682 Jalandhar-New Delhi Intercity Express, which will commence journey on Sunday, stood cancelled.

The 18238 Amritsar-Bilaspur Chhatisgarh Express has been diverted via Ambala- Panipat-New Delhi-Hazrat Nizamuddin, it said.

The 12904 Amritsar-Mumbai Central Golden Temple Mail has been diverted via Ambala-Panipat- New Delhi-Hazrat Nizamuddin.

The 14646 Jammu Tawi-Delhi Shalimar Express has been diverted via Ambala-Panipat-Delhi.

Also Read: Utkal Express accident: Not first time that problem with tracks reported from Muzaffarnagar

The 19326 Amritsar-Indore Express has been diverted via Ambala-Panipat-New Delhi- Hazrat Nizamuddin. The 04402 Katra-Anand Vihar service has been diverted via Ambala-Panipat-Delhi and will be short terminated at Delhi. The 24155 Allahabad-Udhampur Express has been terminatedvia Khurja-Delhi-Panipat-Ambala. (With PTI)