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Pukhrayan train accident- Train number 19321 Indore-Patna Express met with an accident in 2016 at Pukhrayan, Kanpur Dehat. There were more than 150 deaths and hundreds of people were injured. The accident occurred due to mechanical failure due to breakage of welding of S-1 coach. The train was going from Indore in Madhya Pradesh towards Patna.
New Delhi. The train was going from Indore in Madhya Pradesh towards Patna. The passengers of the entire train were sleeping at night. Since it was the month of November, a strong wind was coming in through the windows. Due to which it was cold, most of the passengers slept with blankets or sheets covering their heads. Then there was a sharp jerk in the train and many passengers jumped in the air and fell down after hitting the roof of the coach. After this there was chaos all around. The incident took place on this day in 2016 in Pukhrayan of Kanpur Dehat. More than 150 people were killed and hundreds were injured in this incident.
Train number 19321 Indore-Patna Express was going from Indore towards Patna on the night of 20 November. It was around 3 o’clock in the night. The train was running between Malasa and Pukhrayan on Jhansi-Kanpur line. Its speed is 106 km. It was per hour. Then a part of the welding of S-1 sleeper coach broke and fell on the track. This part had become weak due to being filled with junk. The fallen piece caused obstruction on the track, causing derailment of two bogies of the train (S-1 and S-2).
14 coaches derailed
These bogies bounced like footballs and fell on the third bogie (B-3), causing a sharp shock. In this way, about 14 coaches of the train derailed. The loco pilot felt the shock and applied emergency brakes, but it was too late.
Most deaths from S1 and 2
During the rescue operation, it was found that most of the deaths occurred in S-1 and S-2 sleeper coaches, most of the passengers were sleeping. The villagers started rescue operations immediately after the accident, but most of the passengers were trapped under the debris. Due to this he faced problems. Then NDRF, team of doctors and local police conducted a rescue operation. Debris was removed with heavy machinery and rail mobile medical units were deployed. Helpline numbers were issued. Most of the passengers in the train were from Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, who were returning to work after celebrating Diwali and Chhath festivals.
Investigation revealed mechanical failure
The investigation of the accident was handed over to CRS. The panel report of the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) (released in 2020) clarified that the accident occurred due to mechanical failure. The welding of S-1 coach was broken due to junk and old cracks, which got stuck in the track. The report rejected the theory of track fracture, because four trains had passed smoothly before the accident.
