Fog causes chaos in northern India

Dense fog has thrown life out of gear in north India, hitting rail, air and road traffic. Several flights have been delayed or cancelled and train services have been hit as well. The fog also caused a technical snag in the Northern Grid, causing it to trip. Power supply to four states of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir has been affected.

Fog wrecked havoc over north India on Saturday, with three train accidents in Uttar Pradesh due to poor visibility. 10 people were killed when the Gorakhdhaam Express rammed into the Prayagraj Express near the Panki railway station in Kanpur around 9 am.

The accident took place when the two trains coming from Delhi were on the same track, GM, North Central Railway, Allahabad Zone, Harishchandra Joshi said.

The Bhiwani-Gorakhpur Gorakhdham Express hit the stationary Prayagraj Express at Panki railway station amid dense fog in Kanpur district on Saturday morning.

The Delhi-Allahabad Prayagraj Express was at the station when the Gorakhdham Express hit it from behind.
Senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, who was travelling to Allahabad on the Prayagraj Express, was unhurt.
The last coach of the Prayagraj Express was badly damaged due to the impact of the collision that occurred at Panki railway station in Kanpur district.

In another accident, the Bihar-bound Delhi-Sitamarhi Licchavi Express rammed into the stationary Magadh Express at Sarai Bhopat near Etawah on Saturday at around 8:00 a.m.
The driver of the Licchavi Express was seriously injured as the engine of the train plunged into the Magadh Express in foggy conditions.
According to the North Central Railway (NCR) chief public relation officer (CPRO), over 10 persons were killed and 25 injured, at Panki railway station accident in Kanpur district.

Railways have announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the family of those killed, one lakh to those seriously injured and Rs 10,000 for those with minor injuries.

According to the District Magistrate of Kanpur, there was no casualty in the Etawah accident.
Heavy fog reduced visibility sharply, thus, disrupting trains coming to and from Delhi.
Passengers who were hoping to travel early remained stuck for several hours on Saturday morning.

The entire Kashmir valley has been plunged into darkness due to disruption in supply of electricity. The disruption occurred due to failure of the northern power grid because of fog.
Flight operations at the Delhi's IGI airport on Saturday morning came to a standstill due to dense fog and fault in instrument landing system, which led to diversion of several flights.
Dense fog reduced the visibility to zero metre and runway visbility to 100 metre at the Delhi airport.
Around nine international flights were also diverted to Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Jaipur.