At least 100 passengers of 15640 Dn Puri Express were injured when four bogies were derailed and another four capsized near Rangiya in lower Assam's Kamrup district around 8.20 p.m. on Sunday. The train bound for Puri had left Guwahati railway station at 6.45 p.m.
Police suspect that the derailment was caused by a powerful bomb blast. Passengers and local residents said that they had heard a deafening sound just before the derailment. Most of the passengers included pilgrims bound for Jagannath temple at Puri.
The derailment occurred at Bhatkuchi between Rangiya and Ghagrapar railway stations. The condition of several passengers was stated to be serious. A large crater was created on the tracks due to the impact of the remote-controlled blast. Train movement along the route was disrupted.
No outfit has so far claimed responsibility for the blast. The four derailed bogies were just behind the engine.
Shocked and traumatised injured passengers who included a number of minor children and women had to wait on the tracks for more than one-and-half-hour for rescue teams to reach the site and evacuate them to hospitals.
Senior railway officials accompanied by rescue teams rushed to the spot. However, before the official rescue teams could reach the spot, local residents provided first aid to the injured.
