Punjab Mail gets derailed near Rohtak, 19 injured

New Delhi: At least 19 passengers were injured when eight coaches of the Delhi-bound Firozpur-Mumbai Punjab Mail got derailed near Kharawar village, about 14 km from Rohtake, in the wee hours on Sunday.

Alok Mittal, the IGP of the Rohtak Range, informed the incident took place around 3:30 am.

Out of the 24 coaches, the eight bogies that derailed include sleeper coaches from S-5 to S-10, apart from the guard-cum-luggage van.

The train was on its way from Firozepur in Punjab to Mumbai when the accident occurred.

Railway authorities have started an investigation to ascertain the reason behind the derailment.

The injured have been admitted to the PGIMS hospital.

Senior officers of Railways and police rushed to the spot and took the injured to the PGIMS hospital.

"Someone onboard the train had made a call to police control room. We promptly reached the spot and helped railway officials in rescue operation," said Mittal, adding that railway officials took nearly two hours to clear the track.

The train, then, proceeded towards its destination around 6 am.

Rohtak Railway authorities said around 300 m of railway track has been damaged, but no casualties or major injuries have been reported.

"The Railways Minister himself spoke to the locomotive driver as well as hospital authorities in the morning. He also spoke to the Divisional Railway Manager. The Railways will bear the cost of treatment," they said.

With additional information from PTI

(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest)