Patna: Seven persons were killed after 11 coaches of the New Delhi-bound Seemanchal Express derailed in Vaishali district of Bihar on Sunday.
Officials camping at the accident site informed this newspaper that around 29 persons were injured in the accident and have been shifted to government hospitals in Hajipur for treatment.
According to East Central Zone chief public relation officer Rajesh Kumar three sleeper bogies, one general and one third class AC coach (B3) and four other bogies derailed causing death to seven passengers who were travelling in the 12487 Jogbani – Anand Vihar Terminal Seemanchal Express on Sunday. He said that the train was running at its full speed when the accident occurred.
Doctors and rescue team were rushed to the site. However, local people who were the first to begin rescue work blamed railway officials and the state government for not reaching the spot on time.
According to the Government Railway Police here, out of seven persons who died in the accident six of the deceased have been identified as Icha Devi (66), Indira Devi (60 years), Shamsuddin Alam (26), Ansar Alam (19), Shaida Khatoon (40 years) and Sudarshan Das (60).
“Besides government hospitals in Hajipur where injured have been shifted for treatment we have also alerted PMCH and NMCH”, Principal secretary disaster management Pratyay Amrit said.The state government has also announced an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh each for the family members of those who have died in the accident and 50 thousand for the injured.
The East Central Railways has also introduced three helpline numbers to provide assistance to people looking for their friends and family who were travelling on the train.
Railway officials here firmly believe that fracture in the railway track and displaced fish plates could be one of the main reasons behind the derailment of eleven coaches. They also couldn’t rule out the possibility of sabotage angle.
