Army,Air Force join rescue work

* RLY board chairman at mishap site * Probe ordered * kin of dead to get Rs 5 lakh.

As personnel from the Indian Army and choppers from the Indian Air Force continued rescue and relief operations on a war-footing till late evening at the site,where 15 coaches of the 12311 Howrah-Delhi-Kalka Mail derailed on Sunday afternoon,the Railways authorities were grappling to find a credible answer to what actually caused the derailment at Malwan station in Uttar Pradesh. As sunlight faded,the railway personnel put up generator-based lighting systems. In the night,a special train left Howrah station carrying relatives and friends of the Howrah-Kalka Mail mishap victims for Malwan station.

Union Minister of State for Railways Mukul Roy was present at the station along with his Tourism Ministry counterpart Sultan Ahmed and state minister Arup Roy when the train left at 8:20 pm. Railway Ministry is under the Prime Minister. Officials have left for the spot. If necessary,I will go there, said Roy.

Anxious relatives and friends of the ill-fated Kalka Mail gathered at the enquiry counters at the Howrah station to get information about the mishap. Roy said that another such train would leave from Kanpur and two from New Delhi.

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An inquiry by the Commissioner of Railway Safety Balbir Singh has been ordered into the derailment,Roy said.

The minister announced that the families of the dead would be paid an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh,the seriously injured would get Rs 1 lakh each and those with minor injuries Rs 25,000 each.

Railway Board chairman Vinay Mittal had reached the spot to expedite the rescue operations,he said. Union minister Sriprakash Jaiswal,UP Cabinet minister Swami Prasad Maurya and state Chief Secretary Anoop Mishra were among those who visited the accident site.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee,who till recently held the Railways portfolio,expressed her concern.

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In view of the congestion following the accident,two less popular Delhi-bound trains 13039-Up Howrah-Delhi Janata Express and 13111-Up Kolkata-Delhi Lalquilla Express have been cancelled on Sunday.