Train accident in north Bengal; 9 dead, 60 injured till now
Around 9 am this morning, a good train rammed into the Kanchanjunga Express, coming from Agartala in Tripura, near Rangapani, close to the New Jalpaiguri station, in the Phansidewa area of Darjeeling district in Bengal. The area falls under the North East Frontier Railway zone.
Nine people died (including two railway staff, one of whom was the goods train driver) and at least 60 were injured, according to the latest reports. The ultimate destination of the Kanchanjunga Express was Sealdah Station in Kolkata.
According to multiple reports, the cause of the accident was the automatic signalling system not working, as a result of which the goods train overshot the signal and crashed into the passenger train.
The Indian Railways has set up several helplines to assist the people, the list of which is given below.
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee posted about the accident on X, describing it as “a tragic train accident”, and added that “DM, SP, doctors, ambulances and disaster teams have been rushed to the site for rescue, recovery, medical assistance”.
Teams of the National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force, and ambulances have been rushed to the spot. Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is monitoring the situation from the Railways war room in New Delhi.
A report stated that one factor which limited casualties is the fact that the rear part of express train, which was rammed into by the good train, comprised the cargo van and the guard’s coach, and the passenger compartments were further ahead.
The prime minister announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 2 lakh for the next of kin of each deceased and Rs. 50,000 for each of the injured, from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF).
