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At least 18 people were killed and 100 others injured when a train traveling from Mangalore to Mumbai derailed near Mumbai Wednesday following heavy rains, railway officials said.
The accident took place a little after 6 am when 10 coaches of the Matsyagandha Express went off track in Raigad district of Maharashtra State, about 150 km from Mumbai.
Indo-Asian News Service quoted railway officials as saying that the train hurtled into two boulders that had come loose due to the heavy rains and rolled on to the tracks. Most passengers were sleeping when the accident took place.
Two of the coaches were hanging from a bridge at the accident spot. The engine of the derailed train was lying on a dry riverbed.
The Konkan Railway has arranged special relief trains to reach the spot. The injured are being ferried to the Panval and Ratnagiri hospitals.
Train services have been disrupted due to the accident.
(Xinhua News Agency June 17, 2004)
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