Maoists targets Trains ,71 passengers killed

Kolkata:At least 71 passengers of a Mumbai-bound express train were killed when Maoists derailed it in the wee hours of on Friday with five of the 13 coaches that jumped the tracks also being hit by an oncoming goods train.

150 passengers were also injured in the derailment of of the Howrah-Kurla Lokmanya Tilak Gyaneshwari Super Deluxe Express in West Midnapore district, about 150 kms from Kolkata at around 1:30 am, when the train was running between Khemasoli and Sardiya stations, South Eastern Railway officials said.

Railway officials said bodies of 71 persons have been recovered so far from the train wreckage.

Several passengers are feared trapped in the worst smashed S-5 compartment of the train which bore the brunt when the speeding goods train ploughed through the derailed coaches. Officials feared that the death toll could go up.

Of the injured persons, 78 were admitted to the Kharagpur Railway Hospital, 39 to the Midnapore State General Hospital and 25 to Kharagpur Government Hospital.

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