Jalpaiguri: At least 15 people died and around 60 others were injured after a goods train collided with the Sealdah-bound Kanchanjunga Express near Rangapani station in West Bengal on Monday, police said.
Three rear compartments of the express train derailed under the impact of the collision from behind by the locomotive of the goods train, railway officials said.
Rescue operations are underway at the spot, about 30 km from North Bengal’s New Jalpaiguri station, and the injured persons were being shifted to nearby hospitals.
“At least 15 people have died in the accident till now and 60 suffered injuries,” a senior police officer told PTI.
Earlier, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a post on X: “Unfortunate accident in NFR zone. Rescue operations going on at war footing. Railways, NDRF and SDRF are working in close coordination. Injured are being shifted to the hospital. Senior officials have reached site.”
The divisional railway manager (DRM) of North Frontier Railway’s Katihar division said the 13174 Kanchanjunga Express was bound for Sealdah from Agartala and the accident occurred around 9 am.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken to the Railways officials and taken stock of the situation.
In a post on X, PM Modi said, “The railway accident in West Bengal is saddening. Condolences to those who lost their loved ones. I pray that the injured recover at the earliest. Spoke to officials and took stock of the situation. Rescue operations are underway to assist the affected. The Railways Minister Shri@AshwiniVaishnaw Ji is on the way to the site of the mishap as well.”
Different teams attached to the state government and the Indian Railways started rescue operations at the site between New Jalpaiguri and Rangapani station.
To make things more difficult, the rescue operations are being impacted by rain in the region.
The rescue teams are adopting the manual process of bringing the affected compartments back into position to locate more trapped passengers.
“We are avoiding the use of gas cutters right now as we fear that more people might be trapped inside the affected compartments. The use of gas cutters might endanger their lives. Since we are still adopting the manual process, the rescue process is slow. Rainfall is adding further difficulty,” said an official of the state Disaster Management Department, present at the spot.
The injured persons have been rushed to the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital at Siliguri.
Some of the passengers travelling by Kanchanjungha Express said that contrary to information that there was just one collision, they heard the sound of at least three to four collisions.
We are avoiding the use of gas cutters right now as we fear that more people might be trapped inside the affected compartments. The use of gas cutters might endanger their lives. Since we are still adopting the manual process, the rescue process is slow. Rainfall is adding further difficulty, said an official of the state Disaster Management Department, present at the spot.
The injured persons have been rushed to the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital at Siliguri.
Some of the passengers travelling by Kanchanjungha Express said that contrary to information that there was just one collision, they heard the sound of at least three to four collisions.