News Analysis India

Tag: Bikaner Guwahati Express

  • Mosque loudspeaker reunites victim of Bengal train derailment with family in Assam

    By PTI

    GUWAHATI: A man, injured in the train derailment in West Bengal, was reunited with his family in Assam on Friday with the help of the loudspeakers at a mosque that are used for namaz.

    Safikul Ali, a resident of Dhula in Assam’s Darrang district, was among those injured in the Bikaner-Guwahati Express train derailment in the neighbouring state’s Jalpaiguri district on Thursday.

    Having narrowly escaped the accident that claimed nine lives, Ali was undergoing treatment at the Super Specialty Hospital in Jalpaiguri, where Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw visited the injured on Friday.

    “While enquiring about Ali’s wellbeing, the minister learnt that he was unable to contact his family as neither does he nor his family members has a mobile phone,” a Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) official told PTI.

    Ali said he had the phone number of a neighbour, and Vaishnaw immediately got him connected with that person, the official said.

    But, the neighbour could not find Ali’s family at home, nor did a postman arranged by the minister could track them down, he added.

    After efforts to contact the family failed, an announcement was made from the village mosque through the loudspeakers used for namaaz, the official said.

    Following this, the family learnt about Ali’s condition and got in touch with the railway authorities.

    Ali’s elder brother is now on the way to Jalpaiguri, he added.

    At least nine people were killed and 36 others injured when 12 coaches of the train derailed near Domohani in Jalpaiguri district on Thursday.

  • Problem with locomotive’s equipment: Min after inspecting Bikaner-Guwahati train accident site

    By PTI

    JALPAIGURI/GUWAHATI: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday inspected the Bikaner-Guwahati Express train accident site in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district and said that there was some issue with the equipment of the locomotive.

    Nine people were killed and 36 injured after 12 coaches of the Bikaner-Guwahati Express train derailed, and some of them capsized near Domohani in Jalpaiguri district on Thursday.

    Vaishnaw said that the actual reason behind the accident could be ascertained only after dismantling the engine’s equipment.

    He also met injured passengers at the hospital. “The issue was with the locomotive’s equipment, not with speed restrictions or tracks. There will be marks on the equipment. Only after dismantling it and studying those marks, the reason behind the accident can be ascertained,” he told reporters after inspecting the accident site.

    “The root cause (behind the accident) will soon come out. An inquiry into the unfortunate incident is underway. We pray for the departed souls and wish for a speedy recovery of the injured. Talks are on with the families regarding the distribution of ex-gratia,” he added.

    Earlier in the day, Vaishnaw arrived at Domohani railway station at 9.38 am and proceeded to the derailment site within two minutes on a motor trolley, NFR’s Chief Public Relations Officer Guneet Kaur said in Guwahati.

    “The minister conducted a trolley inspection to ascertain the condition of the track and fittings. At the accident site, he conducted a thorough inspection of the underframe of the locomotive and its braking system,” she said.

    She said that the death toll has risen to nine, with three of the deceased yet to be identified. The number of injured currently stands at 36.

    While 23 passengers are undergoing treatment at a super specialty hospital in Jalpaiguri, six are admitted to the North Bengal Medical College and seven at Maynaguri Rural Hospital, the CPRO said.

    The accident took place at 5 pm on Thursday near Domohani in Alipurduar division of the Northeast Frontier Railway, she said.

    “An inquiry committee has been formed to find out what caused the derailment,” Kaur told PTI.

    NFR General Manager Anshul Gupta reached the spot at 12.08 am on Friday, and is supervising the restoration work of tracks for normalisation of train movement. He visited various hospitals on Thursday night and early on Friday to check the condition of the injured patients, Kaur said.

    The CPRO said that a special train had left the accident site at 9.50 pm with 290 stranded passengers for Guwahati. The special train has reached Guwahati railway station around 8.30 am on Friday, Assam’s Special DGP (Law and Order) G P Singh said in a Twitter post.

    There were 1,053 passengers onboard the train at the time of the derailment, an NFR statement had said on Thursday.

    The Railways has announced ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of those killed in the accident, Rs 1 lakh to the grievously injured, and Rs 25,000 for passengers with simple injury.

    “Now that the passenger relief operation at the site is complete, restoration work will start in full swing for normalisation of train movement under the supervision of the NFR general manager,” she said.

    At least 10 trains, mostly intercity and DEMU trains, have been cancelled on the affected route on Friday, while a couple are being short-terminated or short-originated.

    Another 10 long-distance trains are being diverted through alternative routes, the CPRO added.

  • Death toll in Bikaner-Guwahati train accident rises to 9, Railway Minister to visit site

    By PTI

    GUWAHATI: The death toll in the Bikaner-Guwahati Express train accident in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district has gone up to nine, a Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) spokesperson said here on Friday.

    Three of the deceased are yet to be identified, she added.

    Twelve coaches of the Bikaner-Guwahati Express train had derailed and some of them capsized near Domohani in Jalpaiguri district on Thursday.

    NFR’s Chief Public relations Officer Guneet Kaur said the number of injured currently stands at 36.

    While 23 passengers are undergoing treatment at Super Specialty Hospital in Jalpaiguri, six are admitted to North Bengal Medical College and seven at Maynaguri Rural Hospital.

    She also said Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is scheduled to visit the accident site on Friday morning.

    The NFR general manager, Anshul Gupta, reached the spot at 12.08 am on Friday, and is supervising the restoration work of tracks for normalisation of train movement, she added.

    “Passenger relief operation at site is complete,” Kaur added.

  • ‘A loud sound, a jerk and everything went blank’: Bikaner-Guwahati Express accident survivors recount experience

    By PTI

    JALPAIGURI: “A heavy jerk followed a loud sound, I fell from my berth and everything went blank,” said a survivor of the Bikaner-Guwahati Express train, which derailed in West Bengal’s New Jalpaiguri district on Thursday, leading to the death of five people and injury of 45 passengers.

    Twelve coaches of the train jumped the rails, and some of them overturned near Domohani.

    The accident occurred at around 5 pm in an area under the Alipurduar division of Northeast Frontier Railway, an NFR spokesperson said in Guwahati.

    A partially mangled coach got perched atop another under the impact, while a few bogies had hurtled down the slope and overturned.

    Hundreds of people from nearby villages gathered at the spot and lent a helping hand to passengers who had got trapped inside the collapsed coaches.

    Some of the bogies had gotten detached from the rest of the train under the impact, while some wheels came off.

    “It was around 5 pm; I was speaking to my wife over the phone. All of a sudden, I heard a loud sound and there was a heavy jerk. I was thrown away from my berth and went blank. Later, when I regained consciousness, I was being taken inside an ambulance,” Sanjoy, a survivor, told a news channel.

    ALSO READ: 5 dead, 45 hurt as Guwahati-Bikaner Express derails in Bengal

    Some of the survivors were searching for their near and dear ones who were with them inside the train when the accident happened.

    “My mother and I were having tea, when all of a sudden there was a sound followed by a severe shock and luggage kept on upper berths tumbled all around. The locals later rescued me, but I am yet to locate my mother. I don’t know what happened to her,” said another injured person.

    “We recovered three bodies from the accident site while two people died in the hospital,” Jalpaiguri District Magistrate Moumita Godara Basu said, adding at least 45 passengers were injured in the accident.

    Manohar Pal, a local who was one of the first to reach the spot and take part in the rescue operations, said he was with his friends at a tea stall when they heard a loud sound.

    “We initially thought it was some sort of a blast. But as we rushed towards the source of the sound, we saw train coaches mangled with each other. We heard people screaming from the derailed coaches. We immediately tried to pull them out,” he said.

    The district magistrate said the death toll may go up as some of the injured passengers are in critical condition.

    Rescuers are thoroughly searching each coach for survivors and bodies through darkness and thick fog, Basu said.

    The Commissioner, Railway Safety, will conduct an inquiry into the cause of the accident, a railway official said in New Delhi.

    Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Railway Board Chairman and Director General (Safety) are also leaving for the accident site.