Two passengers were killed and over 30 others were injured when eight bogies of the Tata-Bilaspur passenger train derailed after Maoists blew up railway tracks tonight in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district.
The blast near Ghaghra Halt in the district occurred at 9.15 pm shortly after a pilot engine passed the area, South Eastern Railway PRO Soumitra Majumdar said.
He said a railway doctor found two passengers dead and 34 injured, while six others were trapped in the derailed bogies.
Chakradhar Railway Division Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Vivek Srivastava said nearly 30 to 35 passengers were injured in the incident.
A railway team, he said, was attending on them.
Railway minister Mamata Banerjee said from Delhi that passengers had received injuries and suffered from bleeding according to the guard of the train.
“Maoists blew up a portion of railway track which caused the derailment. Three bogies are badly damaged. There were also three to four blasts nearby to deter rescuers,” Banerjee said.
“I am monitoring the situation and have asked senior railway officials to rush to the spot,” she said.