Four killed as 23 coaches of Kamakhya-bound NE Express derail

PATNA: The Railways confirmed on Thursday that four passengers have died and 30 others injured in the derailment of the Kamakhya-bound North East Express in Bihar's Buxar district last night. The East Central Railway (ECR) initiated a high-level inquiry into the derailment of the train.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) expressed deep condolences to the family members of the deceased.

The East Central Railway CPRO, Virendra Kumar, said, "The North East Express was derailed at Raghunathpur Railway Station at 9.53 p.m. on Wednesday, wherein 4 persons were killed and 30 injured. Five of the injured people have critical conditions and are admitted to the hospitals in Buxar and Patna. A total of 23 coaches were derailed in this mishap," Kumar said.

"The Indian Railways has given Rs 10 lakh compensation to the family members of deceased, and injured persons were given Rs 50,000 each," Kumar said.

"We have arranged a special train from Raghunathpur for the passengers. Besides, we have issued helpline numbers at Patna, Danapur Deen Dayal Upadhyay, Barauni, Katihar, Kishanganj, New Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, New Bongaigaon, Rangia, Kamakhya, and Guwahati," he said.

Following the accident, East Central Railway GM Tarun Prakash, Danapur DRM Jayant Kumar Chaudhary, and other officers reached Raghunathpur to take control of the situation. The technical teams initiated an investigation into the mishap.

"Our technical team started the investigation to ascertain the actual reason for the derailment. An expert committee is formed for the purpose," Tarun Prakash said.

A preliminary investigation revealed that the track was dislocated at some places. The officials claimed that such a thing could be both a pre- and post-accident possibility.

"Railway has its own way to investigate such a train accident. We have formed a high-level technical committee to investigate this accident. The track was broken or not cannot be said at this point in time. The actual position will be ascertained only after the findings of the investigation report," said Tarun Prakash, General Manager, East Central Railway.

Many passengers claimed that they heard the noise around two kilometres before the train finally derailed near Raghunathpur railway station. (IANS)

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