Team News Riveting
Raipur, November 4
Ten people are feared killed and several others injured after a passenger train collided with a goods train in Chhattisgarh’s Bilaspur district on Tuesday evening.
The accident occurred near Lal Khadan area on Howrah-Mumbai main rail line under Bilaspur railway zone. The Gevra-Bilaspur MEMU (mainline electric multiple unit) rammed into a stationary freight train at around 4 pm today. The spot is near Bilaspur, which houses the headquarters of South Eastern Central Railway (SECR) zone.
The impact of the collision was so devastating that some coaches of the passenger train climbed over the goods train and mangled. The ladies coach next to the engine was worst affected, resulting in injury of children.
The deafening sound of the collision propelled the villagers to rush to the spot and carry out an immediate rescue operation. Soon after receiving the information, the railway accident relief team and officials from the district administration reached the spot and accelerated the rescue and relief operation.
Bilaspur District Collector Sanjay Agrawal said five bodies were evacuated till 6 pm while efforts were going on to rescue the four to five persons reportedly trapped in the debris. He said efforts were on to bring them out safely. Though the number of injured could not be known, Agrawal said the condition of two was reported to be critical.
The railway authorities have not come out with any official statement. According to experts, the reported failure in the automatic signal system resulted in the mishap. They suspected that the accident occurred after the MEMU local train overshot a signal and rammed into the rear of a stationary goods train.
Railway has announced Rs 10 lakh for the kin of those killed in the mishap.
The mishap had severely damaged the overhead wires and signalling system, disrupting train operations on the route. Many trains plying on Howrah-Mumbai section had been regulated.
