At least one passenger was killed while 18 others injured in a train accident at Bankorpur of Kaliachak in Malda on Sunday evening. The death toll is expected to rise.
The accident took place within three weeks of the train mishap at Fatehpur in UP. CM and former railway minister Mamata Banerjee immediately instructed the district administration to launch rescue work.
At around 7 pm, the engine of the UP-Guwahati-Bengaluru Express derailed and fell on the adjacent track while running between Gour Malda and Jamir Ghata stations, said chief public relation officer of the Eastern Railway Samir Goswami.
Mr Goswami confirmed that 18 people were injured in the accident.
“The UP Azimgunj passenger train which was running along that track rammed onto the engine of the express train,” he added.
Mr Goswami rejected the possibility of a head-on collision between the two trains which had started doing rounds soon after the accident. As an impact of the accident, the engine of the Guwahati-Bengaluru Express caught fire leaving its driver trapped inside. Its three sleeper coaches, two parcel vans and a luggage van also got derailed, Mr Goswami elaborated.
Two of them rolled into a canal besides the track, sources revealed. Four coaches of the passenger train also got derailed.
It were the local residents who first joined in the rescue operations. Malda district magistrate Rajesh Singh said, “One passenger is confirmed killed in the train mishap. Four more are feared dead. There is no confirmation of it though. Prevailing darkness is hampering the rescue work.”
He also pointed out that unless the fire is doused, the bogies cannot be removed.
Senior ER officials rushed to the spot. Two trains carrying medical teams and a relief train also left for the site from Howrah.