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26 killed, dozens injured in India train derailment

Rescuers attend to a derailed train in India’s Uttar Pradesh state on March 20, 2015.

At least 26 people, including children, have been killed and dozens more injured after an express train derailed in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, authorities say.

Media footage revealed that at least three carriages derailed during the train accident approximately 30 miles (50 kilometers) from Lucknow, capital city of Uttar Pradesh state on Friday.

Authorities have so far pulled out 26 bodies including those of two children, said Ram Murath Yadav, a police official at the site of the accident.

One of the coaches was apparently vacant, limiting the number of deaths, another unidentifed official said.

Rescue personnel are now focused on bringing trapped people out alive.

Chief public relations officer for the Northern Railway, Neeraj Sharma Sharma, said an investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the accident, which could have been due to driver negligence or the brake system failing.

Rescue work is carried out on an express train that derailed some 30 miles (50 kilometers) from Lucknow, capital city of Uttar Pradesh state in India on March 20, 2015.
 

The incident marks the latest in deadly accidents on India's railways.

Last month, at least 10 people were killed and over 100 sustained injuries after a boulder fell on a section of railway tracks and derailed a passenger train in the southern Indian state of Karnataka.

In September last year, two passenger trains collided in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh, killing at least 14 people and wounding tens of others.

Train accidents are not uncommon in India as the nation has one of the world's largest train networks, transporting about 20 million passengers each day. Most accidents are blamed on poor maintenance and human error.

GMA/HMV


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