Over 250 people were injured in the incident and they have been admitted to various hospitals in this district in Uttar Pradesh and in Kanpur even as rescuers pulled out more people from the train.
According to Fatehpur Superintendent of Police Ram Bharose 68 bodies have been recovered so far. 259 people are undergoing treatment at various hospitals. He said that the deceased include 14 women.
Sandeep Mathur, Chief Public Relations Officer of North Central Railway, said in Allahabad that two Swedish nationals were among the dead. While one Swedish national has been identified as Wick from the statement of his injured compatriot Oscar, who was also travelling with him, the identity of the other is yet to be ascertained.
Rescue operations continued through the night to extricate the trapped passengers and bodies from the badly damaged AC and other compartments.
“By tomorrow morning, the Howrah-Delhi route should be cleared off,” Railway Board Chairman Vinay Mittal.
Mittal said there was no fault in the track and the cabinman had told him that when the train was close to pole number 927/23, its engine started shaking and emitting smoke, after which the mishap took place.
According to preliminary investigations, the signals were functioning normally and the fish plates on the tracks were intact, Mittal said.
While some of the bogies had toppled, others were turned into a mangled heap of metal.
Helpline services have also been launched at Delhi (23962389, 23967332), Allahabad (05322407352, 05322408128) Fathepur (05180222025, 05180222026) Kanpur (05122323015, 05122323016) and Khurja (05738253084) for giving details of the relief and rescue operations.
