02 January,2010 12:26 PM IST | | IANS
At least four persons were killed and about 40 injured in two separate accidents involving four passenger trains amid dense fog near Kanpur within an hour early today.
DIG, Kanpur, B P Jogdand said four persons were killed and at least 40 others were injured when the Bhiwani-Gorakhpur Gorakhdham Express hit the stationary Prayagraj Express at Panki railway station in Kanpur district at around 9:00 a.m.
The Delhi-Allahabad Prayagraj Express was at the station when the Gorakhdham Express hit it from behind in dense fog, PRO of North Central Railway (Allahabad) Amit Malviya told PTI.
A PTI correspondent at the spot saw the last coach of the Prayagraj Express badly damaged due to the impact of the collision.
Senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, who was travelling to Allahabad on the Prayagraj Express, was unhurt, railway sources said. In another accident, the Delhi-bound Licchavi Express rammed into the stationary Magadh Express at Sarai Bhopat near Etawah at around 8:00 a.m., railway officials said.
The driver of the Licchavi Express was seriously injured as the engine of the train ploughed into the Delhi-Islampur Magadh Express in foggy conditions.
While the brake van of the Prayagraj Express derailed, the engine of the Gorakhdham Express was damaged. A relief team from Kanpur was rushed to the site, Chief PRO, Northern Railways, Rajesh Dutt Bajpai said.
A team of railway officials is at the accident spot in Panki and is helping with rescue efforts, Anil Saxena, a railway spokesman said. He said Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has directed that rescue operations be expedited. Rail traffic on the Delhi-Kanpur section has been severely disrupted due to the accidents.
