1 dead, 33 hurt as B’lore train derails near Chennai

CHENNAI ( DHNS):Eleven coaches of the Bangalore-bound Muzaffarpur-Yeshwantpur weekly express train derailed on Wednesday morning near Chitteri, close to Arakkonam in North Tamil Nadu, about 65 km from here. The accident killed one passenger on the spot and injured 33 others. As a result, many Bangalore and Kerala bound trains were either cancelled or diverted. The express train bound for Yeshwantpur near Bangalore, which left Chennai Central at 4:15 am, derailed near Chitteri railway station in the Southern Railway’s Arakkonam-Katpadi section, around 5:45 am, railways and police officials at the accident site told Deccan Herald over the phone. Sibu Soran, 52-year-old passenger from Malda district in West Bengal, was instantly crushed to death. Barring six passengers, most of the 33 hurt escaped with “minor injuries,” sources said. They were admitted to Arakkonam Government Hospital. Four of the critically injured passengers with fractures were later shifted to Government Hospital here. Among the injured passengers were five women and two children. All of them are out of danger. The Southern Railway cancelled several Bangalore-bound trains from Chennai and other stations.