Bhubaneswar: At least 15 passengers were killed and 100 injured when a train derailed near Jajpur Road railway station in Orissa on Friday evening.
As many as 14 bogies of the Coromandel Express, which was travelling from Howrah to Chennai, slipped off track.
East Coast Railway chief public relation officer J P Mishra said at least 15 people were killed when the super fast express train derailed some 110 km from Bhubaneswar.
"Two relief trains are on their way to the spot from the Khurdha Road and Bhadrak railway stations. Our priority is now to rescue survivors," Mishra added.
According to Orissa Director General of Police Manmohan Praharaj around 100 people were injured in the mishap.
"The rescue and relief operations are on. We are sending the injured to hospitals," Praharaj said.
An official involved in the rescue and relief said many people could be trapped under mangled coaches.
A resident of Jajpur Road said the accident was "horrible and serious". "I don't know how many people have died but the number of the injured is definitely more than 50," Kishore Jena, a resident of Jajpur Road, told IANS over telephone.
"The accident took place at about 7.45 p.m. but the (district) collector reached the spot around 9 p.m. The area was completely dark and local people were rescuing victims by arranging diesel generators.
"I along with some other locals shifted nearly 40 passengers including a foreigner woman to nearby hospitals," Jena said.
In Delhi, Railway Minister Lalu Yadav said the accident was tragic and announced compensation for the victims.
An amount of Rs 5 lakh and a job for families will be given to people killed, Rs 50,000 for injured severely and Rs 10,000 for minor injuries.
(With inputs IANS and PTI. )
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