NEW DELHI, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- At least three people were killed and more than 10 others injured when a passenger train derailed in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh early Friday morning, officials said.
The accident occurred near the Manikpur railway station in the state's Chitrakoot district, some 220 km from capital Lucknow, at 4:18 a.m. local time (2248 GMT)/
"Some 13 coaches of Vasco Da Gama-Patna Express train went off the tracks near the Manikpur railway station. Three people have died. All the injured have been shifted to nearby hospitals for treatment," Indian Railway Ministry spokesperson Anil Saxena told the media in Delhi.
"The dead included a six-year-old child. The death toll may go up later in the day as the condition of at least two of the injured are said to be serious," Chitrakoot district police chief Pratap Gopendra Singh said.
The train was on its way to Patna, the capital of the eastern state of Bihar, from Vasco Da Gama in the western state of Goa.
Local TV channels reported, quoting an official, that fractured track could have led to the derailment of the express train and showed footage of rescuers still looking for survivors and cranes being pressed into action to put the coaches back on track.
Indian Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has ordered a probe into the incident and announced a compensation of 500,000 rupees (8,000 U.S. dollars) each to the family of the deceased and some 100,000 rupees (1,500 U.S. dollars) for those with grevious injuries.
"Immediate rescue and relief operations started and an inquiry was ordered into the derailment of Vasco Da Gama-Patna Express at Manikpur. My sincere condolences to the families of the deceased," Goyal tweeted.
Uttar Pradesh's Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also condoled the deaths and wished speedy recovery of the injured.
State-owned Indian Railways is one of the world's largest train networks, criss-crossing the country from north to south and carrying millions daily. But the safety record of the colonial-era public carrier is very poor.
In August this year, 23 people were killed and over 150 others injured after 14 coaches of the Kalinga Utkal Express train derailed in Uttar Pradesh. And a few days later, over 100 were injured when 10 bogies of the Kaifiyat Express derailed in Auraiya district of the state.
In January this year, at least 32 people were killed and over 50 injured after seven coaches and the engine of Jagdalpur-Bhubaneswar Express train derailed in Vizianagaram district of the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
