India: Gaisal Disaster - Railway Minister resigns
Death toll approaches 300

India's minister for railways has announced his intention to resign following the horrific train collision at Gaisal

photo: BBC Minister, Nitish Kumar resigns

yesterday

He faxed his resignation from the crash scene to the Prime Minister. In a statement, he told reporters "I thought that I should resign, own moral responsibility," and added "There is no politics in it. I told the prime minister that I am shocked beyond words and I should not remain in office."

The Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said that Mr Kumar should take time to consider his decision.

The accident is one of the worst in India's history. The death toll has reached 298 according to a bulletin issued by UPI this morning. The number of injured is around 800, many serious. It is believed that the final figure could approach 400 as rescue work continues.

Yesterday, the Secretary General of the UN Mr Kofi Annan expressed his shock at the accident saying in a statement that he "deeply regrets the heavy loss of life and shares the grief of the many afflicted families". In a statement from the Whitehouse, US President, Bill Clinton expressed his condolences:

President Clinton Extends Condolences to Victims of Indian Train Crash. On behalf of all Americans, the President and the First Lady offer their deepest condolences to the people of India on the tragic train crash in northeast India today. The President and Mrs. Clinton extend their sympathy to the relatives of those killed in this crash, as well as to those injured.

Earlier Stories

• India: Gaisal catastrophe - Rescue operation scaled down
• India: Gaisal catastrophe - Death toll reaches 250
• India: Gaisal train collision - Death toll continues to mount
• India: Gaisal train collision - 100s feared dead
• Hundreds feared dead in Indian train collision

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