Three killed, 50 injured in train accident Saturday, 04 February 2012 00:20

Local people gather near the derailed carriages of the Bongaigaon-Guwahati Chilarai Passenger train in Sathisarapa village, on the outskirts of Guwahati city, yesterday.

Guwahati: At least three people were killed and 50 injured when a Guwahati-bound train hit a road construction vehicle at an unmanned crossing near here yesterday morning, a railway official said. Five coaches went off the tracks while four other coaches overturned under the impact.

The Chilarai Passenger Express was coming from New Bongaigaon station in lower Assam when it hit a JCB vehicle at Gosaikhat area near Mirza, 15 km from here, at around 9.45am, said railway public relations officer S. Hajong.

“At an unmanned crossing near Gosaikhat, it hit a JCB which was trying to cross over,” Hajong said.

While three people were killed in the collision, 50 others were injured, including 16 seriously, local police said.

The critically injured have been shifted to the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), while others have been admitted to the railway hospital in Maligaon and in some private hospitals.

Railway ministry sources in New Delhi said prima facie cause of the accident is negligence of the JCB driver Bipul Kalita. The other fatalities were site engineer Dhirani Kalita, engaged in the road construction project and who was travelling in the JCB, and train passenger Hiren Sarkar.

The sources said commissioner, railway safety in the railway zone, will conduct the mandatory probe into the accident.

The sources said compensation to the dead and the injured would be paid as per rules.

GMCH superintendent Dr Ramen Talukdar said eight critically injured passengers were brought to the hospital, and the condition of three was serious.

IANS

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