Railway authorities clear Arakkonam train debris

Arakkonam (Tamil Nadu), Sep. 14 (ANI): Railway authorities in Arakkonam, Tamil Nadu, have begun removing the debris from the crash site, hours after a moving train smashed into a stationary train, killing nine people and injuring over 70.

The collision took place around 9.30 p.m.on September 13, when a local train from Chennai Beach to Vellore collided with the last bogie of the stationary passenger train from Arakkonam that was bound for Vellore.

Police officials cordoned off the accident site, as curious locals gathered in large numbers to see the extent of damage.

The impact of the crash was so severe that a coach of the passenger train that runs between Arakkonam and Vellore was completely smashed.

The injured have been admitted to a government hospital in Arakkonam.

Grief stricken families rushed to the hospital to identify the bodies of their loved ones but many of them were mangled beyond recognition.

"This is a failure on the part of the authorities due to which such a huge damage has taken place. I was travelling with my daughters and one of my relatives. All of them were very young. The name of my relative is Parshuram and he was 35 years old. We could not even their faces. They are lying inside the mortuary. The relatives are reaching the site to see their near and dear ones and I do not know what to tell them. All of us started together but now I stand alone alive here," said Nagaraj, relative of a victim.

Two teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were rushed to the accident site on Tuesday.

Medical, rescue and relief operations were in full swing to retrieve the other bodies trapped under the debris.

However, rescue and relief efforts have been impeded due to darkness and heavy rain in the area.

India's Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi would be visiting the accident site later in the day.

Trivedi had announced a compensation package for the victims and promised a probe into the tragedy. (ANI)