Close shave for passengers as train derails near Vellore

Cheni, Feb 5: Passengers of the Bengaluru-bound Kanyakumari-Bangalore City Express had a rrow escape on Friday morning as the train derailed near Vellore district of Tamil du, about 170 km from here, the Southern Railway and the South Western Railway said. “Fortutely no lives were lost. Also no passenger suffered any major injuries. Around five passengers suffered minor injuries and were given first aid,” S. Biswas, public relations officer, South Western Railway, told IANS over phone from Bengaluru. Initially, there were conflicting reports about the number of passengers who were injured in the accident, ranging from 15 to 40. The press statements issued by Southern Railway and South Western Railway are silent on the number of injured passengers. The Southern Railway in a statement said the coaches derailed at 4.15 a.m. between Somayakkanpatti and Patchur of the Bangalore Railway Division. According to the Railways, seven buses and a special train from Jolarpettai in Vellore district were arranged to transport passengers to Bengaluru and senior officials have reached the accident spot. Owing to the accident the Southern Railway has cancelled 11 trains between Cheni-Bengaluru, Jolarpettai-Bengaluru and Arakom-Bengaluru.  (IANS)