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More than 21 coaches of North-East Superfast train derail in Bihar's Buxar; nearly 100 injured
The North East Express train was going from Anand Vihar Terminal, Delhi to Kamakhya in Assam when its 21 coaches derailed at 21.35 on Wednesday.
At least 12 coaches of North-East Superfast train derailed at Raghunathpur railway station in Bihar's Buxar district on Wednesday. Six passengers have died in the accident and nearly 100 persons reported to be injured so far. Two to three AC coaches have overturned and fallen on the track.
“Some coaches of train number 12506 North East Express going from Anand Vihar Terminal to Kamakhya derailed at 21.35 today near Raghunathpur station of Danapur division,” ANI said quoting Railways official.
The official said the mishap took place close to Raghunathpur station near Buxar around 9.35 pm. The train was on its way to Kamakhya near Guwahati in Assam.
Due to the accident, movement on both up and down tracks have been disrupted, leading to diversion of several passenger and goods trains. Senior railway officials have reached the accident site and probing the cause of the derailment while efforts are on to put back the derailed coaches to the tracks. “It will take some time before the tracks are cleared, as removing bogies is a cumbersome work. The efforts have begun,” said CPRO, East Central Railway, Birendra Kumar, adding that Railways is yet to assess the loss incurred due to the incident. The primary objective is to restore the train movement to both sides.
The derailment caused a chaos like situation at the spot as several pillars, electrical poles, signals post and both tracks were damaged. Many trains operating on the New Delhi-Howrah main line were delayed in reaching the destination as they halted at many points.
The derailment had affected train movement on the crucial Deen Dayal Upadhyay-Howrah route, which connects Patna, Jhajha, Kiul, Jasidih and Pataliputra.
The railway is making all efforts to restore traffic on the rail route after necessary repair. The cause behind the derailment is immediately not known and an inquiry panel is being constituted to investigate, CPRO said, adding that senior officials including Danapur DRM were rushed to the spot.
Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav directed the top officials of Buxar and Arrah to make proper arrangements for the injured and send the concerned officers to the incident site as soon as possible.
Union minister Ashwini Choubey said he spoke with the deputy general of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and other officials along with Union railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. “I have appealed to our workers and they are engaged in rescue operations. Medical teams have been sent. Rescue operation is going on. I am also going to Raghunathpur, Buxar,” he said.
Meanwhile, police team and locals are jointly rescuing passengers stuck inside the derailed coaches.
