5 dead, 14 injured as passenger train collides with goods train in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur
Bilaspur (PTI): At least five persons were killed and 14 others injured after a passenger train collided with a goods train from behind near Bilaspur station in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday, railway officials said.
The incident took place around 4 pm when the MEMU (mainline electric multiple unit) passenger train was heading to Bilaspur from Gevra (in neighbouring Korba district), they said.
When it was between Gatora and Bilaspur railway stations, the passenger train rammed into a goods train from behind, the officials said.
"So far, five deaths have been confirmed in the accident. Four others are still trapped inside the wreckage and efforts are on to evacuate them," Bilaspur Collector Sanjay Agrawal told PTI.
The goods train was also moving in the same direction as that of the passenger train, he said.
The injured passengers have been shifted to Apollo Hospital and Chhattisgarh Institute of Medical Sciences (CIMS) hospital in Bilaspur. The condition of one of them is said to be critical, he added.
The railway authorities have mobilised all resources at the spot, and required measures are being taken for the treatment of the injured persons, the officials said.
The visuals show a coach of the passenger train mounted onto a wagon of the goods train.
Meanwhile, the railway authorities announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each to kin of the deceased and Rs 5 lakh to the seriously injured persons, while those who sustained minor injuries will receive Rs 1 lakh assistance, an official statement said.
A detailed inquiry into the incident will be conducted at the level of the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) to ascertain the cause and recommend necessary corrective measures, it said.
Relief and rescue operations have been launched on a war footing by the railway administration. Senior officials have rushed to the site to monitor the situation, and the injured have been shifted to nearby hospitals for treatment, it said.
The railway authorities are providing all possible assistance and coordination to the affected passengers.
Helpline numbers have been issued for the convenience of passengers and their families, it added.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai expressed grief over the accident and said that the state government stands in full solidarity with the affected families.
The CM spoke over the phone with the Bilaspur District Collector, seeking detailed information about the incident and directing officials to provide all possible assistance to those affected, an official statement said.
He instructed that immediate medical aid be ensured for the injured and that every possible support be extended to the affected families, it said.
In a post on 'X', Sai said, teams from the railway machinery and the district administration have immediately reached the spot and are engaged in relief and rescue operations.
All necessary medical facilities and resources are being made available for the treatment of the injured. The state government has been closely monitoring the situation with complete promptness and sensitivity, he said.
The CM expressed his deep condolences to the families of the passengers who lost their lives in this accident and wished for the speedy recovery of the injured.
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Death toll in attack on Kyiv apartment building now stands at 24
Kyiv (AP): Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that a Russian missile attack on a Kyiv apartment building the previous day killed 24 people, including what local officials said were three teenagers.
Emergency workers finished digging through the building's rubble after more than a day, Zelenskyy said on X.
The cruise missile hit the nine-story corner block during what the Ukrainian air force said was Russia's biggest barrage of the country since its all-out invasion.
The assault mostly targeted the Ukrainian capital, where 48 people were wounded, including two children, Zelenskyy said.
Russia hammered Ukraine with large-scale aerial attacks in the days following a May 9-11 ceasefire that US President Donald Trump said he asked Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin to observe. Fighting went on over those 72 hours, although reportedly on a lesser scale.
This week's attacks ran counter to recent suggestions from Trump and Putin that the war, now in its fifth year, is close to ending.
Zelenskyy said Thursday that Moscow had launched more than 1,560 drones against Ukrainian population centres since Wednesday. In all, some 180 sites across the country were damaged, including more than 50 residential buildings, he said.
Previously, the biggest Russian drone attack was from the evening of March 23 to the evening of March 24 when Moscow's forces fired nearly 1,000 drones and missiles at Ukraine.
Ukraine has also built up significant long-range capabilities, and Russia's Defense Ministry said Friday that air defences downed 355 drones overnight in one of the largest Ukrainian drone attacks of the war.
Several airports suspended flights overnight because of the attacks.
Also, a Ukrainian drone attack on Ryazan, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) southeast of Moscow, killed four people, including a child, Ryazan Governor Pavel Malkov said.
After the attack, massive plumes of black smoke spewed from a fire at a local oil refinery. Ukraine has targeted Russian oil facilities in an effort to deny vital export revenue for Moscow and rattle the Kremlin.
Ukrainian officials made no immediate comment about the Ryazan strike.
The Ukrainian capital observed an official day of mourning Friday in remembrance of those killed Thursday, and Zelenskyy visited the site.
The cruise missile that hit the apartment building was built in the second quarter of this year, Zelenskyy said, apparently after Ukrainian experts analyzed the wreckage.
“This means Russia is still importing the components, resources and equipment necessary for missile production in circumvention of global sanctions,” Zelenskyy said in another post on X late Thursday.
“Stopping Russia's sanctions evasion schemes must be a genuine priority for all our partners,” he said.
Russia and Ukraine have continued to occasionally swap prisoners of war, and 205 from each country returned home Friday.
Zelenskyy said it was the first phase of a planned 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner swap. Some of the Ukrainians released had been held in Russian captivity since 2022, he said, and had fought in some of the war's fiercest battles.
Russia's Defence Ministry confirmed the exchange and thanked the United Arab Emirates for helping broker it.
