India rail crash: Death toll hits 145 as rescuers comb through wreckage
Railway minister launches investigation and vows to take 'strictest possible action' against anyone responsible

At least 145 people are now believed to have been killed in India after a train derailed near the village of Pukhrayan, in Uttar Pradesh, in the early hours of Sunday.
The cause of the crash is not yet known, but the Times of India quoted sources as saying a fracture in the track could have been to blame.
Rescue staff using heavy machinery worked through the day and into the night to try to reach survivors.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Railway minister Suresh Prabhu, who said he was "personally monitoring the situation closely", warned the "strictest possible action will be taken against those who could be responsible for the accident". He also promised to launch an immediate investigation and begin the process of compensating those injured.
Around 23 million passengers a day use the country's vast train network, the fourth largest in the world. Accidents remain "fairly common in India, where much of the railway equipment is out of date", says the BBC. This was one of the worst, if not the worst, this century.
Last year, India announced an investment of $137bn (£111bn) over five years to modernise and expand the railways.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - April 19, 2025
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - free trade, judicial pushback, and more
By The Week US
-
5 educational cartoons about the Harvard pushback
Cartoons Artists take on academic freedom, institutional resistance, and more
By The Week US
-
One-pan black chickpeas with baharat and orange recipe
The Week Recommends This one-pan dish offers bold flavours, low effort and minimum clean up
By The Week UK
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across Syria
THE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
By Abby Wilson
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarray
In the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?
The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK
-
Why Serbian protesters set off smoke bombs in parliament
THE EXPLAINER Ongoing anti-corruption protests erupted into full view this week as Serbian protesters threw the country's legislature into chaos
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Who is the Hat Man? 'Shadow people' and sleep paralysis
In Depth 'Sleep demons' have plagued our dreams throughout the centuries, but the explanation could be medical
By The Week Staff
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK
-
Romania's election rerun
The Explainer Shock result of presidential election has been annulled following allegations of Russian interference
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK