- Sunday, October 13, 2024
A number of passengers were injured and a coach caught fire after Mysuru-Darbhanga Bagmati Express collided with a stationary goods train near Chennai
By: Shajil Kumar
AN EXPRESS train hit a stationary goods train on Friday night in Tamil Nadu after it entered a wrong track, railway officials said.
The Railway Board has said that the accident occurred at the Ponneri-Kavarapettai section in Chennai Rail Division and a coach caught fire. Many passengers were injured, but no fatalities have been reported yet.
State chief minister M K Stalin said he is monitoring rescue and relief work and the injured people were being taken to hospitals. The rescue and relief teams reached the accident site immediately.
Train No.12578 Mysuru-Darbhanga Bagmati Express was travelling at an approximate speed of 75 kilometres per hour and the accident happened around 8.30 pm on October 11.
Instead of taking the main line, the train entered a loop line.
The crew is safe and fire tenders have doused the parcel van that caught fire.
The train movement on this stretch has been closed to help the fire and rescue personnel clear the 12-13 coaches that got derailed.
Senior government, railway officials, doctors, ambulances, rescue teams, a medical relief van & senior officers are at the site.
Special train
The passengers of the ill-fated train have left for Dharbanga by a special train on Saturday, the southern railway said.
They were earlier transported from the accident site by buses to Ponneri and then to Chennai Central by two EMU trains, the railway said.
A high-level enquiry has been ordered into the incident, the railway authorities said.
Tamil Nadu deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin visited the injured passengers undergoing treatment at the Stanley hospital in Chennai.
No lessons learnt: Rahul Gandhi
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday attacked the Centre over the train accident in Tamil Nadu, saying no lessons have been learnt despite many lives lost in numerous accidents and asked how many more families must be destroyed before the government wakes up.
Gandhi asserted that accountability starts at the top.
In a post on X, Gandhi said, “The Mysuru-Darbhanga train accident mirrors the horrific Balasore accident–a passenger train colliding with a stationary goods train.”
“Despite many lives lost in numerous accidents, no lessons are learned. Accountability starts at the top. How many more families must be destroyed before this government wakes up,” the former Congress chief said.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also slammed the Centre over the train accident.
“Train accidents have become so common in the country that despite occurring one after another, neither any accountability is being fixed by the government nor any action is being taken,” she said in a post in Hindi on her WhatsApp channel. (PTI)
