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Sainthia
(WB): At least 60 people were killed and over 90
passengers injured when a train in high speed tore through the rear
of another at the Sainthia station in Bhirbhum district of West
Bengal, after it apparently overshot the signal in the small hours
of Monday.
Driver M C Dey and assistant driver N K Mandal of the Sealdah-bound
Uttarbanga Express, which collided with the Ranchi-bound Vananchal
Express, were among the dead in the accident for which railways are
not ruling out sabotage as the cause.
The guard of the Vananchal Express A Mukherjee also died in the
mishap which was so severe that the roof and the sides of one of the
compartments mounted the road overbridge across the tracks in the
station, 191 kms from Kolkata, in Eastern Railway.
A part of another compartment of the Vananchal Express split and
fell on the road along the tracks after being thrown over the
bridge.
"A total of 60 persons, including three railway employees, have lost
their lives in the accident when three rear coaches including one
luggage van and two unreserved general second class coaches of the
Vananchal Express were affected," an Eastern Railway release said
here.
The accident occurred at 2:00 am when the New Coochbehar-Sealdah
Uttarbanga Express came on the same track and rammed into the
Bhagalpur-Ranchi Vananchal Express which was leaving platform number
four at Sainthia station.
astern Railway General Manager V N Tripathi did not rule out
sabotage, which Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee hinted this morning
when she said "we have doubts about the cause of the accident, the
second in West Bengal in two months".
The General Manager said the train was in speed and "what caused
this we will have to find out. The driver is a very good driver and
we are also puzzled".
Asked whether sabotage could be behind the accident, he said,
"Possibly. Nothing could be ruled out".
Though the railways were hesitant to come out with the reason for
the accident, the second in two months in West Bengal after the
Jyaneshwari Express disaster that claimed 148 lives, an apparent
overshooting of the signal by the driver of the Uttarbanga Express
could be the reason behind this.
Eastern Railway sources in Kolkata and Railway Board sources in
Delhi said the Uttarbanga Express, which has a scheduled stop at Sainthia, was running at a high speed, overshot the signal and ploughed into the Vananchal Express.
The scheduled arrival and departure of Uttarbanga Express at
Sainthia was 1.38 am and 1.39 am. It was not clear why the train,
which was to halt at the station, was at a high speed.
The engine of the Uttarbanga Express, which was to stop at the
station, telescoped into the rear of the Vananchal Express.
The affected bogies have been detached and the trains left for their
destinations.
The Railway Minister announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs five lakh
each for the kin of the dead, Rs 1 lakh for grievously injured and
Rs 25,000 for the other injured. Employment for one of the members
of the victims' families will be given in railways, she said.
Railways have ordered a probe by the Commissioner of Railway Safety
(eastern circle).
The hand of Maoists is suspected in the May 28 Jyaneshwari Express
disaster following which a number of Maoists have been arrested.
Union Home Ministry has despatched five teams of National Disaster
Relief Force comprising 140 personnel to assist in the rescue and
relief operations. Three teams are already at the spot and the rest
two will be reaching soon.
Heavy-duty gas cutters were brought from Panagarh to extricate
bodies trapped in the mangled coaches of Vananchal Express.
"The National Disaster Management forces, including the BSF, and
police are extricating bodies from the severely damaged coaches at
the Sainthia station," West Bengal Director General of Police
Bhupinder Singh said.
Singh said that there was a scarcity of blood in the Suri and
Sainthia hospitals where the injured were taken to.
"The police are arranging blood from the Burdwan Medical College and
Hospital and are also looking for donors to meet the scarcity of
blood," the DGP said.
Eastern Railways said rescue operations were proceeding on a
war-footing and three relief trains, including medical vans, reached
the site from Rampurhat, Burdwan and Asansol.
The first relief train with a medical van reached the site at 3:30
am and immediately started rescue operations, it said.
Trains were being run through the up line, though the down line was
still blocked.
Other than cancellation of Malda Town-Howrah intercity Express,
Sealdah-Rampurhat Intercity Express and Howrah-Rampurhat Express,
the Kanchenjungha Express, Ganadevta Express, Darjeeling Mail,
Padatik Express, Jamalpur Express, Kanchenkanya Express, Gaya-Howrah
Express, Varanasi-Sealdah Express, Saraighat Express have been
diverted via the Naihati-Azimganj route.
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