Two passengers trapped in the bogies were feared dead, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Anand Kumar said. Heavy duty gas cutters were being used to extricate the bodies and all those still trapped in the damaged coaches.
The senior Railway Ministry official earlier told IANS that five coaches and the engine of the New Farakka Express derailed near Harchandpur in Rae Bareli around 6.05 a.m.
He later put the toll at six and added that four more coaches had derailed. More than 60 people have been inured and rushed the district hospital in Rae Bareli.
The death toll was expected to rise as several have been critically injured.
Rescue operations were being handled by National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams from Allahabad and Varanasi, who were rushed to the scene of the accident, the official added. An NDRF team from Lucknow was expected shortly.
At least 13 trains have been diverted or short terminated following the accident.
Addition Chief Secretary (Information) Avaneesh Awasthi said Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was apprised of the situation. He has spoken to the district officials and senior police officers.
The authorities have been directed to ensure prompt relief and rescue operations.
Chairman of the Railway Board Ashwani Lohani would be visiting the accident site.
According to the passengers, the train derailed after a loud noise. People from nearby villages were first responders on the accident site.
A part of the Majherhat bridge between Taratala and Mominpur collapsed around 4.30 p.m. on Tuesday. So far, one person has died and 19 others injured in the accident.
"Our team is still working on the rescue. Overnight and this morning, we tried to dig holes on the concrete slab decks that caved in, to find out whether anyone is still trapped underneath.
"Cameras are also being used to find out what remains below the debris. Removing the rubble would take more time," a member of the rescue team said on Wednesday.
Four teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), fire brigade and personnel of disaster management teams are at the spot.
Cranes have been deployed and gas cutters were being used for the rescue operation. Three columns of army personnel were also present at the spot.
The West Bengal government has initiated a probe on the incident. "Investigations are going on. At this point, we cannot come to any conclusion regarding the possible reasons behind the accident," a member of the forensic team said.
Pedestrians and commuters in buses and cars who were on the collapsed structure were rescued.
The bridge was the main connector between central and southwest part of the city. Due to the partial collapse of the bridge, traffics has been diverted. Trams services on some routes have been withdrawn, a Kolkata Traffic Control official said.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was in Darjeeling at the time of the accident, has said: "Four-five labourers used to stay in a temporary tin shed under the bridge. If they were there during the collapse, it is possible that something unfortunate may have happened to them."
Goods vehicles have not been allowed to enter the city between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m.
State government will pay a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the family of Soumen Bagh, who died in the accident.
State Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim said on Tuesday that heavy construction work of the metro project beside the collapsed bridge could have weakened its pillars.
City metro railway authority, however, have ruled out any such possibility.
Amid blame game over the partial collapse of the bridge the Eastern Railway said it was not conducting any maintenance work at the accident site.
However, experts said the bridge was very old and any structural defect or use of inferior quality of material as the reason behind the collapse cannot be attributed.
The bridge has been withstanding heavy vehicles for more than 40 years. The only reason that may trigger the collapse could be "lack of maintenance".
According to a state official, the 40-year-old bridge was constructed by the Kolkata Port Trust and maintained by State Public Works Department.
The 1988-batch Jharkhand cadre IPS officer, Pradhan visited the 3RD NDRF unit at Mundali on the outskirts of Cuttack today and in an exclusive interview to OTV, Pradhan lauded the steps and preparedness of Odisha in tackling several disasters in the past.
“Due to climate change and rapid urbanisation, the line between natural and man-made disasters has become thinner. Efforts should be made to protect nature and minimise man-made disasters,” said Pradhan.
Pradhan further informed that NDRF’s role has not been limited to tackling disasters, but at the same time, efforts are on to restore the nature.
“As Odisha is prone to natural calamities, the preparedness of the State has been remarkable. There has been a sea change in the equipment and machinery while there is now an extensive use of information technology. As NDRF is a central agency, we will soon issue advisory to several States to consider use of latest technology and equipment,” said Pradhan while stressing on cooperation between NDRF and States.
The extremely severe cyclonic storm on May 3 did not result in major casualties but the environmental damage in the city is immense and it will take more than a decade to recover, officials said.
Uprooted trees and fallen electricity poles can be seen through the city, which is picking up the pieces from the storm that killed 29 people, mostly in the coastal town of Puri.
Over one million trees have fallen in this city, adding to the herculean clean-up task. Many in Bhubaneswar had an emotional attachment with the trees, carefully tended for over two decades.
"We were in tears seeing these trees lying on the roads. We raised them like our kids. We are now working hard to rehabilitate the remaining trees. Our 40-member team has rehabilitated 800 trees in last 4 days, " Ashok Mishra, divisional forest officer, told PTI.
"It is impossible to assess the environmental damage as of now.The entire greenery has gone. In just Patrapada locality, one lakh trees have been destroyed," he added.
Shipra Mohanty, a resident of Nayapalli area, is mourning the loss of the mango tree planted by her grandmother.
"It will now take 15 to 20 years to grow new trees to that height. it was my grandmother's memory. We are feeling like we have lost her again. We could not eat anything the day our tree fell," she said.
The challenge ahead is to initiate a large-scale plantation drive. The forest department wants to plant cyclone resistant trees given the recurring instances of natural calamities in the state.
"We have nursery stocks of more than two lakh saplings but the plantation can be done in phases only. We are planning to start this as soon as the monsoon hits the city," Mishra said.
Truckloads of green garbage are being transported from temporary transit stations (TSS ) to Bhuasani, the designated waste dump yard of the city.
Thousands of workers from civic organisations as well the fire service, the National Disaster Response Force and the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force have joined hands to bring the city back on its feet.
The civic body has deployed 445 sanitation staff in 10 wards and agencies have deployed 2,306 staff in 57 wards, said government sources.
The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation has also set up a cyclone control room to address the concerns of the city residents. One representative of each department is receiving calls and most calls are related to fallen trees, officials said.
(Story By: Mona Parthsarathy)
Singh also said the Indian Coast Guard, Navy, Army and the Air Force units have also been put on standby while aircraft and helicopters are carrying out aerial surveillance.
"Gujarat has evacuated about 3 lakh people and Diu has evacuated over 10,000 people from low-lying areas to safer places...(the) MHA is in continuous touch with state govts/UT and central agencies. The NDRF has pre-positioned 52 teams equipped with boats, tree-cutters, telecom equipments etc," Shah tweeted.
The home minister said cyclone Vayu is expected to cross the Gujarat coast between Porbandar and Union Territory Diu and he "prays for the safety of the people".
An alert has been sounded in 10 districts of Gujarat as cyclone Vayu has turned "very severe" and its impact is expected to remain strong for 24 hours even after its landfall Thursday, officials said.
As many as 52 teams of the National Disaster Management Relief Force (NDRF), comprising around 45 rescuers each, have been moved to the state, while 10 columns of the Indian Army have been kept on standby.
Warships and aircraft of the Indian Navy have been kept on standby as well.
A general alert has been sounded across 10 district in Gujarat as wind speeds are likely to touch 170 km per hour, a Home Ministry official said.
Cyclone Vayu has turned into a "very severe" cyclone and it is expected that its impact will continue to be strong for 24 hours even after its landfall, the official said.
Normally, a cyclone becomes weak after its landfall.
Residents of some of the Gujarat districts have been asked to move out to safer places or cyclone shelter centres.
Meanwhile, Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba Wednesday chaired a meeting of the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) where preparation for relief and rescue operations were discussed threadbare.
The NCMC meeting took stock of the precautionary measures taken by the Gujarat government and the Diu Union Territory administration with a view to ensure that no human life is lost, damage to vital infrastructure is minimised and to ensure early recovery of all essential services post-cyclone landfall.
Diving and rescue teams and relief material have been kept on standby for rendering assistance to civil authorities, as required, another official said.
Medical teams and facilities at the Indian Naval hospital in Mumbai are on standby to handle medical emergencies.
Both the administrations have also been advised for timely evacuation of people from the low-lying coastal and vulnerable areas.
The Gujarat and Diu administration are evacuating about three lakh people from the identified vulnerable areas and they are being shifted to around 700 cyclone and relief shelters.
Addressing a two-day annual conference on capacity building of State Disaster Response Forces, Shah said: "Since its formation, the NDRF has participated in 3,000 rescue operations and saved the lives of over one lakh people, which is a great achievement. It It has also done a very good job in disasters not only in India but also in many other countries."
"In a major natural calamity in 1999, over 10,000 people died in a cyclone in Odisha. In same state reduced the number of casualties in this year's cyclone Fani to 67," he said.
Shah said disaster management was largely ignored in the country before 2000. "It was in 2001, after the devastating earthquake in Gujarat, that then Chief Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation of the Gujarat Disaster Management Department. From there, work on disaster management in the country started in totality," he said.
"During the earlier NDA government, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee set up the National Disaster Management Committee and made a very good start by making Sharad Pawarji its Chairman," the Minister said.
"On the lines of the NDRF, now 24 State Disaster Response Forces (SDRF) have been set up. Nagpur is also going to have a very big centre soon," he said.
The Home Minister asserted that disaster management challenges could be solved only if all the parties were well equipped. "There are no two opinions that all your needs will be met. You will get gadgets, resources, buildings and infrastructure. But disaster management is not done by buildings. Unless there is feeling, it will not yield the right results," he said.
He said in the next five years, the NDRF must aim to upgrade its equipment and develop it in indigenously with the DRDO. "Time has come for equipment to combat disasters to go from India to Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh," he added.
Shah also urged the disaster management agencies to help curb forest fires, which have become rampant due to global warming. "Get experts from other countries and prepare to fight forest fires so that minimum damage is done to the forests and nature," he said.
While 18 soldiers and five civilians were pulled out from the debris, the rescue operations by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Army and the state police are on.
According to officials, the incident took place when soldiers, belonging to the nearby Dagshai cantonment, were having meal at a roadside eatery-cum-residential complex, which caved in due to heavy rain.
Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said 30 soldiers and seven civilians were present in the building, located on the Kumarhatti-Nahan road, around 55 km from Shimla.
Deputy Commissioner K.C. Chaman said measures to rescue people trapped in the debris were on. The injured have been admitted to nearby hospitals.
Continuing rain was hampering the rescue operation, he added.
The heavy flood battered at least six mandals in East and West Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh.
The second warning signal issued at Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage at Dowaleswaram continued as 13.58 lakh cusecs of floodwaters flowed in.
About 7,500 cusecs of this was being let out into the delta canals and the rest into Bay of Bengal.
No casualties have been reported in the flood-hit areas as teams of National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force reached out to the affected areas with essential supplies and food.
Power supply remained cut off while road communication network was also badly damaged in the two districts, according to the State Disaster Management Authority.
As per preliminary estimate, damages to roads and other infrastructure were to the tune of Rs 6.45 crore.
In all, people in 280 villages in West and East Godavari districts were facing the brunt of the flood fury, according to the authority.
The impact was more on East Godavari where 52,500 people were affected.
The remaining 21,568 were from West Godavari.
The famous Goshpada Kshetram on the banks of Godavari at Kovvuru was inundated, following which temples here were closed.
The water-level touched 29 metres at Polavaram dam construction site, but all access to the project remained cut off as the main approach Kademma sluice bridge submerged.
For the fifth consecutive day, island villages under Devipatnam mandal of East Godavari district remained in darkness as power supply was cut off.
Consequently, 17,632 persons were shifted to relief camps.
Over 35,000 food packets have been distributed for them on Sunday afternoon.
The Yedduvagu and Siddaramvagu bridges in West Godavari district remain submerged, cutting off transportation to villages in the region.
All required measures have been taken by the Collectors of these two districts and the situation is under control, the authority said in a press release.
Rice (25 kg to each affected family), kerosene, edible oil, potatoes and redgram daal have been supplied for the flood victims.
In West Godavari, officials organised 47 medical camps in the flood-hit areas to prevent outbreak of communicable diseases.
State Panchayat Raj Minister Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy spoke to Collectors of the Godavari districts and reviewed the situation.
According to a senior fire official, they got a distress call around 10.30 p.m. on Monday. Following which, six fire tenders were rushed to the Seelampur area.
"We feared some people were trapped," said the senior fire official.
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Delhi Police team and the District Disaster Management Authority launched the rescue operation.
Five people were taken out of the debris and rushed to the hospital, where two succumbed.
Moni, 21, and Mohammed Yaseen, 65, both residents of the K-block Seelampur, were declared brought dead, said Atul Thakur, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP).
The two injured, who were still admitted in Guru Teg Bahadur hospital, have been identified as Arman, 33, and Sahajan Begam, 33.
"The fifth person Samshudin was discharged after first aid from the JPC hospital. We have registered a case under the relevant sections of the law and further investigation is underway," said Thakur.
The cause of the collapse is not yet known.
The rescue operations, also involving the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), fire fighting personnel with eight boats, resumed at around 5.30 a.m. in the swollen river in East Godavari district.
The boat, with 61 tourists, nine crew members and three singers, overturned near Kuchuluru village on Sunday afternoon while on its way to picturesque Papikonda hills.
Officials said 27 people were rescued, while around 25 were missing. Eight bodies were recovered till Sunday night. Initial reports had put the number at 10.
As the bodies were believed to have been washed away, search operations were also being carried out at Dowleswaram barrage. The gates of the barrage were also shut.
The private boat was allegedly being operated without permission and survivors have claimed that the negligence by the driver led to the tragedy.
As many as 36 tourists were from Telangana, including 22 from Hyderabad. Transport Minister P. Ajay Kumar rushed to Rajamundry and met the survivors and relatives of the missing tourists.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy is scheduled to visit Rajahmundry later in the day. He will hold a meeting with officials to review rescue and relief operations.
Reddy on Sunday announced Rs 10 lakh ex-gratia each to the families of the deceased while Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao announced financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh each to the victims from his state.
About 20 people are still missing as the search operation continued around the accident site and downstream for the third consecutive day.
The tourist boat, with more than 70 people, overturned near Kuchuluru village on Sunday afternoon while on its way to the picturesque Papikonda hills.
Officials said 27 people were rescued by local villagers.
As many as 12 bodies were found at Devipatnam near the accident site. Two bodies which had washed away were retrieved from Dowaleswaram barrage.
Personnel of the Indian Navy, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and fire services are participating in the search operation.
The rescue workers continued their efforts to locate the boat, which is believed to be stuck at a depth of 315 feet. Due to the strong water current and winds at the accident site, they are finding it difficult to carry out search operation.
Officials said believe that there may be some bodies in the boat as it turned upside down.
The private boat was allegedly being operated without permission and the survivors alleged that negligence by the boat navigator led to the tragedy.
Authorities had stopped plying of boats on the river for the last two months due to heavy inflows from upstream.
The boy fell into the borewell at around 5.30 p.m. on Friday and got stuck at 30 feet. Late at night, he fell further down to about 100 feet.
Speaking to reporters, Tamil Nadu Health Minister C. Vijaya Baskar said: "The rig deployed to dig a hole near the borewell has gone to a depth of only about 40-ft owing to the rocky terrain."
He said the next course of action will be taken after discussions with different organisations.
The plan is to dig about 90 ft hole near the borewell, send firemen into the new hole and reach out to the boy after burrowing a tunnel inside.
According to reports, stronger blades that can break rocks are being sent from Chennai to be fitted in the rig.
On Saturday, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) took over the rescue operation as other techniques used to take the boy out of the borewell failed.
Initially, Earth-moving equipment was pressed into service to dig a pit near the borewell to reach to the boy. But, it was stopped midway as the terrain was rocky. And, it was felt that this process could cause vibrations that may loosen the soil inside the borewell, thereby slipping the boy further down.
Later, the rescue team used a special equipment 'borewell robot'. But that too was not successful.
Several teams with their own technologies have tried in rescuing the boy, but all have so far, unfortunately, failed.
While speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event in Cuttack Bali Yatra, Pradhan informed that during the triple disaster in Japan in 2011 (earthquake, Tsunami and leakage from nuclear reactors), NDRF was one of the teams that stayed and retrieved bodies exposed to radiation.
"NDRF teams were prepared and trained with necessary equipments to tackle such emergency situations. For this, Japan government had also appreciated the efforts of NDRF. We are prepared to the extent possible for CBRN emergencies," said Pradhan.
According to Pradhan, though there has been no major industrial disaster after the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, adequate efforts are being made to ensure that proper training is imparted to deal with exigencies.
"Community is the first responder during any natural disaster. As part of NDRF's mission, extensive training to NCC and other people will be provided in the next two years so that they can handle the 'golden hour' which can play a crucial role in saving lives of others," Pradhan added.
Das was reportedly injured after an electric pole fell on him while removing an uprooted tree near Naikanidihi Police station earlier this month following which he was admitted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. He was today shifted to New Delhi AIIMS in an air ambulance from Bhubaneswar.
In a tweet, Director General of NDRF, S N Pradhan thanked Odisha Chief Minister Office, Chief Secretary and Special Relief Commissioner for facilitating air ambulance service for shifting the injured inspector.
The NDRF DG also expressed his gratitude to Union Home Ministry and AIIMS authorities for admitting Das at the premier hospital in Delhi.
Speaking to OTV, Pradhan said, "I am very thankful to Chief Minister's office, SRC and Chief Secretary for making necessary arrangements for shifting the injured inspector."