The train had left Fatehpur and was speeding towards Kanpur, its next halt, when tragedy struck at 12.20pm.
Seconds after the train passed Malwan and lunch was served to passengers at 12.20pm, the engine and 13 coaches spun off the tracks and turned into a mangled heap amid ear-splitting noise.
In the silence that followed, all that could be heard were the wails and screams of hundreds of passengers trapped inside, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported Sunday.
Following the accident, Railway Board Chairman Vinay Mittal said the preliminary investigations says that the signals were functioning normally and the fish plates on the tracks were intact.
To a question, Mittal said the driver was not drunk.
"I can't comment," he said on being asked whether he suspected mischief.
General manager of North Central Railway (NCR) H C Joshi said the exact reason for derailment was not clear, and the commissioner of Railway Safety is probing the accident.
While some of the bogies had toppled, others were turned into a mangled heap of metal. Gas cutters and other equipment were used to slice through the metal in the AC and other coaches to rescue the trapped passengers, said Joshi.
"The rescue workers have not been able to enter two of the bogies," Superintendent of Police, Fatehpur, Ram Bharose said, adding the dead included women and children.
On July 7, the Mathura-Chhapra Express had crashed into a bus carrying a marriage party at the Adhurpur unammaned railway crossing Kanshiram Nagar, about 250 km from Lucknow, leaving 38 bus passengers dead.
In today's mishap, 15 out of the total 24 compartments derailed in the accident of which 10 bore the maximum brunt.
Of these, six air-conditioned coaches were affected. While one AC 3-tier coach had turned turtle, another coach was pushed to its top with the impact of the train speeding at about 108 km per hour.
Two other AC coaches banged against each other and stood almost vertically. Desperate to wriggle out of the mangled compartments, some of the trapped passengers were seen smashing the window panes.
Deepali Pradhan, who was travelling from Kolkata to Chandigarh, with seven family members, said the train was moving at a fast speed when she suddenly heard a loud explosion.
"Everything happened within seconds. There was a loud explosion. I was lying down on the top berth and was flung down. My brother-in-law suffered serious head injuries. My mother and children were hurt," said Deepali who had bandages on her hand and leg.
Locals, railway and district authorities immediately launched the rescue operation. The army has also sent about 120 personnel from adjoining Allahabad and Kanpur to assist them. A team of National Disaster Relief Force was also deployed.
Some of the seriously injured passengers were flown to Kanpur by helicopters, Fatehpur District magistrate Mahendra Kumar said.
Two relief trains -- one each from Allahabad and Kanpur -- were sent to ferry the passengers . Another relief train was also sent from Delhi, Minister of State for Railways
Mukul Roy said helplines have been opened at both the Howrah and Delhi stations.
Families of the dead and injured will be given financial aid.
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