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Indian rail crash: Ten members of same family killed in disaster

13 members of the extended Rajak family were travelling on the Janata Express when it derailed

Caroline Mortimer
Thursday 06 August 2015 07:21 BST
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The two derailed trains on top of each other in the mud
The two derailed trains on top of each other in the mud (AFP)

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Ten members of the same family have been killed in an Indian double train derailment.

According to the Times of India, 10 members of the Rajak family heading to the town of Shirdi in central India were killed when a Janata Express train was derailed on a bridge shortly after midnight on Wednesday morning.

The train derailed minutes after another train, the Kamayani Express travelling in the opposite direction to Mumbai, also derailed.

The accident is believed to have been caused by a flash flood which caused part of the track to sink into the ground.

Manish Rajak, a nephew of the family, described the fearful phone call he shared with his brother right before his brother died:“It was around 12 am when my brother Ghanshyam called me up and informed me about the incident, he said that water has entered our coaches and told me that he thinks that they all will die, and he really died."

His aunts and uncles on both sides of his family also died.

At least 31 people are known to have died in the disaster with a further 300 people being rescued.

Railway officials and rescue workers were quick on the scene to help the victims who were reportedly “up to their waists” in water, trapped in the derailed carriages.

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