At least three passengers were killed and 14 were injured when two trains collided in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, in an accident blamed on heavy fog. The Kaliindi Express hit the stationary Shram Shrakti Express near the Tundla railway station in Firozabad, some 350 kilometres west of state capital Lucknow.
"We have learned that three passengers, two women and a little girl on the Shram Shakti Express were killed in the accident," NGRavi Kumar, a senior administrative official from Firozabad, told the IANS news agency.
The two rear coaches of the train were badly damaged due to the impact. "Rescue operations have nearly been completed and the 14 injured are being treated at a hospital. Most of the injured are women," he said. Railway authorities had yet to confirm the casualties but said the driver of the Kalindi Express could not see the stationary train in the thick fog.
"We will confirm the cause of the crash only after the commissioner of railway safety, who will lead an investigation into the accident, submits his report," RD Bajpai, spokesman of the Indian Railway told reporters. Heavy fog also disrupted air and rail traffic across India's northern regions, which continued to reel under a cold wave that has claimed nearly 350 lives so far. Due to poor visibility, at least 25 domestic and international flights as well as 18 trains were delayed from New Delhi. Several rail accidents blamed on fog have occurred in northern India over the recent weeks.