FOGGY DAY,2 CRASHES

The seasons heaviest fog yet resulted in two train accidents on Saturday on the New Delhi-Kanpur route,killing 10 people and injuring 45.....

The seasons heaviest fog yet resulted in two train accidents on Saturday on the New Delhi-Kanpur route,killing 10 people and injuring 45.

The first accident happened at 8.05 a.m. when the Bihar-bound Lichchavi Express rammed into a stationary Magadh Express at Sarai Bhopat near Etawah. An hour later,the Gorakhpur-bound Gorakhdham Express collided with the stationary Prayagraj Express,minutes away from Panki Railway Station in Kanpur,killing 10 passengers and injuring 45.

North Central Railways General Manager H.C. Joshi confirmed that the drivers of both Lichchavi Express and Gorakhdham Express had skipped the red signal. He said a departmental inquiry would look into whether the fog was a factor.

Since the Prayagraj Express was hit from behind,all those killed and injured were in the last three coaches of the train. The last two coaches were derailed and the unreserved coach for women and the guards compartment were severely damaged.

In the first accident,apart from the driver of the Lichchavi Express and the guard of Magadh Express,no one was injured.

While the Railways Ministry is tightlipped about the cause of the accidents,sources said that in both the cases,the trains that rammed into the stationary ones were speeding despite instructions to crawl because of the heavy fog.

The crawl,railway sources said,meant a speed of 8 kmph,but both trains apparently exceeded this stipulated speed.

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BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi,who was travelling to Allahabad on the Prayagraj Express,and Congress MP from Bahraich,Kamal Kishore (travelling in Gorakhdham Express),escaped unhurt.

Railways has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the family of the dead,Rs 1 lakh to the

critically injured passengers,and Rs 10,000 to passengers who

suffered minor injuries.

As a result of these accidents,Northern Railways had to

partially or fully cancel nine trains and divert 11 more. While 52 trains were running late,another 36 trains were rescheduled.