Army joins civil authorities in rescue operations at train accident site in Mathura
Mathura: Army and civil authorities are carrying out rescue and salvage operations at the train accident site at Mathura in Uttar Pradesh in which at least 15 persons reportedly died and many others suffered injuries. The accident occurred in the wee hours of the morning on Wednesday (October 21) when the New Delhi-bound Goa
Express rammed into the rear part of a stationary train, Mewar Express at 5.00
a.m (local time) near Mathura city. The wounded have been rushed to nearby hospitals.
The last bogie of the Mewar Express was completely damaged as the locomotive of
the Goa Express telescoped into it. According to R D Tripathi, the Divisional
Railway Manager (DRM), North Central Railway's Agra Division, prima facie the
train driver of the Goa Express had disregarded signals. "The Goa Express train
rammed into the Mewar Express train from behind, this is the situation prima facie.
A coach of the Mewar Express was damaged, whereas, there has been damage in the
pantry car of the Goa Express. As per the figures we have received till now four
have been killed whereas 12 have been injured. The bodies are still being extracted,"
said R D Tripathi, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), North Central Railway's Agra
Division. Senior railway officials reached the place of incident to oversee the
rescue operations while the injured passengers were sent to the nearby hospitals
Meanwhile, platoons of Indian Army also rushed to the incident site to assist
in the rescue and salvage operations including medical aid. The army personnel
extended their technical expertise in freeing the trapped victims. "The army platoons
helped in bogey-cutting, medical care and other technical and engineering tasks.
They reached on time and many casualties could be avoided because of that. The
people that were stuck inside the train have been rescued. And the help that we
have received from the civil administration especially in clearing the crowd of
onlookers, has been helpful in avoiding many casualties," said Brigadier Mahendra
Kumar of Indian Army, overseeing the rescue operations. Victims were still being
extracted out of the train when last reports came in.
Helpline numbers for inquiry:- 1800-180 6131 (Toll free); Delhi: 011-24359798; Ajmer: 0145-2429642; Udaipur: 0294-2483979; Mathura: 0565-2402008, 0565-2402009; and, Agra: 0562-2421-41.
