Utkal Express Accident: Railways release official figures of tragedy

Muzaffarnagar : The train disaster in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district has claimed 20 lives and left 92 injured, 22 in critical condition, the railways announced on Sunday.

"Our final figures say 20 people lost their lives and 92 were injured, out of whom 22 have sustained grievous injuries," Mohd Jamshed from the Railway Board told the media here. The Kalinga Utkal Express derailed on Saturday evening near Khatauli. 

The Kalinga Utkal Express was on its way from Puri in Odisha to Haridwar in Uttarakhand when 14 coaches derailed on Saturday evening at Khatauli in Muzaffarnagar district.

The accident was so severe that some of the derailed coaches mounted on others.

So far 10 victims have been identified: Sukhi Prajapati (Madhya Pradesh), Alok Sarkar (New Delhi), Vishnu Goswami, Braj Kumar Prajapati and Brijraj Pandey (Gwalior), Rinki Kumari (Agra), Karishma and Sumit Garg (Saharanpur) and Rampal Singh Sharma and Vineet Mittal (Muzaffarnagar).

Efforts were on to identify the others who have died, an official told IANS. Doctors fear the death toll may rise as 10 of the injured were in critical condition.