At least 90 dead in Indian train derailment

A police officer instructs people and rescuers at the site where a train derailed in Kanpur, in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh, in this still image taken from video Nov. 20, 2016.[Photo/Agencies]

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has condoled the deaths in the accident and said he spoke to Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, who was monitoring the situation closely.

"Anguished beyond words on the loss of lives due to the derailing of the Patna-Indore express. My thoughts are with the bereaved families," he tweeted. On his own Twitter account, Prabhu warned that "strictest possible action will be taken against those who could be responsible for accident."

Another senior Indian Railways official Vijay Kumar told the media in Delhi that the cause of the accident was not known immediately, but a probe has been ordered. "An investigation will be carried out soon to ascertain the exact reason for the mishap," he said.

The Indian Railways has also announced a compensation of 350,000 rupees (7,500 U.S. dollars) to the families of those killed and 50,000 rupees (900 U.S. dollars) to those seriously injured in the train accident.

The mishap has also severely affected movement of trains in the region as Kanpur town is a major railway junction and hundreds of trains pass through it every day.

Indian Railways is one of the world's largest railway networks, criss-crossing the country from north to south and carrying over 23 million passengers daily. However, train accidents are common in India, where much of the railway equipment is out of date.