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3 killed in collision between NTPC’s goods trains in MP’s Singrauli
The accident took place near Waidhan, the administrative headquarters of Singrauli district which is 780 kilometres northeast of state capital of Bhopal.
Three people, including a loco pilot and his assistant, were killed when two goods trains of top electricity generator NTPC collided in Singrauli district of Madhya Pradesh early on Sunday, said police.
The accident took place near Waidhan, the administrative headquarters of Singrauli district which is 780 kilometres northeast of state capital of Bhopal.
Loco pilot Rasheed Ahmad, a resident of Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh, assistant loco pilot Mandeep Kumar from UP’s Robertsganj and Ramlakshan, the points-man from Singrauli were killed in the accident.
Police said one of the goods trains laden with coal was on its way to NTPC in Rihand Nagar of Uttar Pradesh, while the other was coming back after unloading coal at the power generating centre.
Town inspector of police at Waidhan police station Arun Kumar Pandey said the accident took place when one of the trains rammed into the other while changing the tracks.
“In a way, it was a head-on collision between the two trains,” Pandey said.
A spokesperson of the East Central Railway (ECR) Rajesh Kumar said in a statement that the accident did not involve the Indian Railway system. Kumar said it took place in the Merry Go Round (MGR) system completely owned and operated by NTPC in Rihand.
“Indian railway has nothing to do with the accident. All the casualties suspected are of non-railway men,” Kumar said.
“However, as per the request of NTPC, Indian Railways is providing all support in the form of 140-tonne railway crane/ ART etc for early restoration of movement [of trains],” he said.
The NTPC authorities in Rihand could not be reached for their comments.
(With input from Monika Pandey in Jabalpur)
