fog causing road accidents too, 17 vehicles ram into each other in Delhi.
In the latest spate of train accidents that have been taking place because of heavy fog across north India this winter season, at least three people were killed and around 14 were injured when the Kalindi Express rammed into the Shram Shakti Express near Agra on Saturday morning.
Senior railway officials said that the accident took place when the Kalindi Express hit the Shram Shakti Express from rear at the Tundla crossing, around 25 km from Agra.
While the local authorities rushed to the spot to help the injured, the railway ministry announced a compensation of Rs5 lakh to the family members of the deceased, Rs1 lakh for people with severe injuries and Rs10,000 for people with minor injuries. The ministry also said that it would bear the medical expenses of the injured.
Soon after the tragic incident, the railway ministry rushed a team to investigate the cause of accident but railway officials in Delhi said that thick fog was the possible cause of the accident. "Three persons have been killed and 14 injured. Prima facie the cause of the accident seems to be heavy fog cover but investigations are going on", said RD Vajpayee, spokesperson of the north-central railways.
The train mishap on Saturday morning was the fourth such incident in the past fortnight. Earlier, the Delhi-Sitamarhi Licchavi Express had hit the stationary Magadh Express near Etawah, while in Pratapgarh, the Sarayu Express rammed into a tractor-trolley at an unmanned railway crossing and all these incidents occurred on the same day.
In a similar tragic accident on January 2, 10 people were killed and 45 injured when the Bhiwani-Gorakhpur Gorakhdham Express hit the stationary Prayagraj Express at Panki railway station in Kanpur district.
The railway ministry has said that all these accidents were caused due to poor visibility conditions that prevail in north India due to heavy fog cover in the past few weeks. The ministry has asked the railway safety commissioner to submit a detailed report of the accident.
The accidents were not limited to railway tracks on Saturday as seven people were injured when 17 vehicles rammed into each other on the Delhi-Noida expressway because of poor visibility conditions in the capital in the morning.
The police said that the accidents took place around 8.30am and added that three people had fractured their legs and were rushed to a hospital for medical help.
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