Kolkata, August 01: At least three persons were killed and over 50 others sustained injuries when six coaches and the engine of Bangalore-bound Guwahati-Bangalore Express veered off the tracks and were subsequently hit by a local train coming from the opposite direction.
The incident occurred near Jamirghata, about 10 km from Maldah in North Bengal on Sunday evening.
The impact of the collision derailed two coaches of the Azimganj-Maldah Town Passenger. Eyewitness reports reaching here from the mishap site said the engine of the passenger train caught fire and exploded following the derailment and pathetic cries of the trapped commuters rent the air as nothing was visible in the darkness except the leaping flames from the ill-fated engine of the passenger train.
Maldah district magistrate Rajesh Singh confirmed death of one person and expressed his apprehension about four or five more casualties. However, the Eastern Railway denied any knowledge of casualties in the accident. “A number of people have sustained injuries as per the preliminary report,” a railway spokesman here said.
“The details of the crash and casualty will be clear once the team reaches the spot and submits its report to us,” he aid.
Railway minister Dinesh Trivedi who reached New Delhi this evening, was briefed about the mishap. “The Eastern railway general manager rushed to the site with a medical team and a relief train is being dispatched to Maldah to do the needful. Above all, we’ll investigate why the derailment has happened,” he said.
Drawn by the loud noise of the crash, local villagers rushed to the site and rescued several injured passengers from the Bangalore Express, witnesses quoting Saral Deb, a passenger rescued from the Express, said. “First, we heard a blast in the engine (Azimganj passenger) and then, saw flames leaping out; villagers were trying to rescue as many as possible as fear was writ large on their faces apprehending more blasts,” Deb was quoted as saying.
According to reports, the toll could go up as several people in the overturned bogies have still remained trapped and with chances of further blasts in the engine not ruled out, the number of casualties might mount up.
The mishap led to cancellation of several up and down trains on the route. At least five trains including Darjeeling Mail have been detained at several stations. Even as efforts were on to rescue the assistant driver of the Bangalore express, there was no immediate report on the fate of the driver of the passenger train.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee who directed the Maldah police super to rush to the site of the accident and organise relief operation, said that a major mishap was averted. ” It would have been a major accident if more coaches from both the trains would have derailed. Fortunately, only four coaches besides the engines of the two ill-fated trains suffered derailment,” she told newsmen here.
Helplines set up
South Western Railway on Sunday set up a helpline for relatives of injured passengers of the Bangalore-Guwahati Express which derailed in Maldah, reports DHNS from Bangalore. The helpline numbers are (080) 22356409 or
2235 6410.
——Agencies