The official said just eight minutes before the accident, two trains had crossed that section and drivers of these trains did not detect any problem.
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Railways has set up helpline numbers to deal with enquiries related to the twin tragedy near Harda in Madhya Pradesh where Kamayani Express and Janata Express trains got derailed and some bogies fell into the Machak river.
PTI reported that the river below the bridge crossing had been swollen and there had been water on the tracks.
Kamayani Express, which runs between Mumbai’s Lokmanya Tilak Terminus station to Varanasi Junction in Uttar Pradesh, was derailed around midnight near Khiriya village in Harda district, about 160 km from here, Superintendent of Police Prem Babu Sharma told IANS.
Federal rescue workers were at the site, Rijiju said.
Saksena said that by Wednesday morning the unaffected coaches had been moved from the tracks.
Meanwhile, rescue operations continued even as several passengers were feared trapped in water after coaches of both the train plunged into the river.
Eleven women, 11 men and five children are reportedly among the dead, and an investigation is underway into the incident, which authorities say was caused by heavy rains in the region. Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said 25 passengers were killed in the mishap and 50 others injured. Tracks were broken, uprooted and scattered, and one train wheel had detached.
By late evening the bodies of those killed, covered in white shrouds, had begun to arrive at the Harda railway station where grieving relatives waited.
But a former railway minister said if the tracks had been maintained, the accidents could have been avoided.
Trains may be diverted via Rajasthan-Kota route. Deeply pained over the loss of lives.
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Monsoon rains have hit large regions of the country in recent weeks claiming at least 178 lives and affecting an estimated 10 million across western and eastern India.
