India Train Wreck Deaths Reach 205
Rescuers using cranes and blowtorches cut through the wreckage of two trains Friday, prying corpses trapped in the mangled debris of India’s deadliest rail disaster in three years.
So far, 205 bodies have been pulled from the wreck in the wheat-trading town of Khanna in the northwestern state of Punjab. Ten more passengers are feared dead in the debris, S.P. Mehta of Indian Railways said. The last of the wreckage is to be cleared today.
The Calcutta-bound Sealdah Express collided with cars that had uncoupled from the Frontier Mail en route from New Delhi and toppled into the path of the oncoming express train on a parallel track Thursday.
No survivors have been found since Thursday. Officials said 260 people were injured, including about 30 in critical condition. Teams of doctors operated all night Thursday, amputating the legs or hands of some victims.
Three years ago, two trains collided near New Delhi, killing 358 people.--Associated Press
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