Gonda (PTI): Four people were killed and 20 injured when eight coaches of the Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express derailed near Gonda in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, officials said.

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak told PTI four people were killed in the accident.

Uttar Pradesh Relief Commissioner GS Naveen Kumar said 20 persons have been injured in the accident.

Gonda District Magistrate Neha Sharma, who reached the spot, said eight coaches of the train got derailed, adding that the injured are being rushed to hospital and relief operations are on at the site.

A 40-member medical team and 15 ambulances are at the spot and more medical teams and ambulances are being rushed there, Relief Commissioner Kumar said.

Senior railway and local administration officials are at the spot, about 150 km from Lucknow, to oversee rescue operations.

Deputy Chief Minister Pathak said that currently their priority is to save lives of the injured and give them the best treatment.

Senior officials of the Health Department are on the spot and an adequate number of ambulances have been rushed to carry the injured, he said.

“Train number 15904 Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express that left Wednesday night from Chandigarh derailed near Gonda Junction station between Motiganj and Jhilahi railway stations at around 2:37 pm on Thursday under the jurisdiction of North Eastern Railway (NER),” Sabyasachi De, Chief Public Relations Officer, Northeast Frontier Railway, said.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took cognisance of the incident and has directed local administration to provide assistance to the affected passengers. The chief minister has asked the officials to ensure proper medical treatment of the passengers injured in the accident.

According to the relief commissioner's office, the helpline numbers- Gonda: 8957400965, Lucknow: 8957409292 have been started.

The Indian Railways has started the relief operation and medical vans have reached the accident site.

The Railway Board has issued the following helpline numbers - Commercial Control: 9957555984, Furkating (FKG): 9957555966, Mariani (MXN): 6001882410, Simalguri (SLGR): 8789543798, Tinsukia (NTSK): 9957555959, Dibrugarh (DBRG): 9957555960.