Death toll in India train derailment accident rises to 23

NEW DELHI - 20 August 2017: The death toll from a train derailment accident in northern India on Saturday has surged to 23 while at least 81 others were injured, according to officials.

Two of the coaches telescoped into each other, while four others toppled over after going off the track, said Arvind Kumar, a top official in Uttar Pradesh, the state where the derailment occurred.

Neeraj Sharma, a railway spokesman, said the incident took place near the small town of Khatauli.

The cause of the derailment was not immediately known, Sharma said.

Railway police and local volunteers helped pull passengers out of the upturned coaches of the Kalinga-Utkal Express, which connects the Hindu holy city of Haridwar with the temple town of Puri, in the eastern state of Orissa.

The injured were taken to a hospital, where doctors described their condition as stable.