Two British citizens were killed and eight others sustained injuries when a chartered train enroute to Shimla derailed just minutes after departing from Kalka, the gateway to the hilly state of Himachal Pradesh. Inspector general of police (railway and traffic) SZH Zaidi said the passengers on the train chartered by noted historian and Shimla-based writer, Raja Bhasin, also had a group of 37 UK nationals on board. The eight injured include three Indian nationals, the officer added, and have been shifted to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh for treatment.
The Kalka-Shimla Railway is a narrow gauge service which mainly covers the mountainous route from Kalka to Shimla. An officer said the train with four engines left Kalka in Haryana at 12.40 pm and went off the tracks an hour into its journey.
“The reason behind the incident is yet to be ascertained. It might be a problem in the track or in the coach. There is a possibility that an animal suddenly came on the track or rocks falling on track leading to the derailment,” Northern Railway CPRO Neeraj Sharma said in New Delhi.
