Kolkata: The death toll in the Bikaner-Guwahati Express train accident in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district rose to nine, while 36 others were injured, some of them in critical condition.
Twelve coaches of an Assam-bound train derailed near Domohani under Alipurduar division of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) at around 5 pm on Thursday and some overturned, a railway spokesperson said in Guwahati.
Union Minister John Barla said the rescue operation is over and the injured are being treated at various hospitals. “The passengers have been sent to Guwahati by a special train,” Barla was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Earlier, Jalpaiguri District Magistrate Maumita Godara Basu found four bodies at the accident site and three others died in the hospital. “Since the condition of some of the injured is critical, the death toll may rise. We are using cranes to remove the damaged coaches. The injured are being treated at hospitals in Maynaguri and Jalpaiguri,” he said.
“We sent generators to illuminate the accident site. All departments have been alerted.
An official said in New Delhi that the commissioner, railway safety, will investigate the cause of the accident. The NFR said in a statement in Guwahati that the rescue operation has been completed. There were 1,053 passengers on board when the train derailed, he said, adding that drinking water and snacks were provided to the stranded.
Unfortunately, the train was running late by 2 hours 41 minutes during the three-day journey. It started from Bikaner late on Wednesday and was scheduled to reach Guwahati early Friday morning. A train carrying stranded passengers left the accident spot at 9.30 pm in Guwahati.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the tragedy when he was in the middle of an online meeting with other chief ministers to review the COVID situation in the country.
first published:Jan. 14, 2022, 8:52 a.m.
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