All bodies recovered from Jnaneswari mishap site, toll 148

The toll in the Mumbai-bound Jnaneswari Express derailment rose to over 148 today as more bodies were pulled out from the wreckage of the mangled coaches.

“All bodies from the spot have been recovered. Train services along the route resumed at 2.50 am this morning,” South Eastern Railway’s Kharagpur Divisional Railway Manager Anil Handa said.

District Magistrate N.S. Nigam and hospital sources have put the toll at 148.

All trains plying in the Sardiha and Khemasuli route in Jhargram in West Midnapore district, about 130 km from Kolkata, will now have a speed limit of 15 km per hour during night, Mr. Handa said.

As many as 145 passengers were being treated in various hospitals in Midnapore, Kharagpur and Kolkata, he said.

Train services on the Kharagpur-Tatanagar section of the South Eastern Railway (SER) resumed this morning after restoration of both up and down tracks.

Thirteen coaches of the Kurla-bound express from Howrah were derailed, of which five fell on opposite tracks and were smashed by a goods train in what is believed to be a case of sabotage engineered by Maoists.

A six-member CID team led by CID Additional Director General Raj Kanojia and accompanied by forensic experts visited the derailment site and inspected the 400-metre stretch of the damaged railway track.

The forensic experts collected samples from the spot, including pandrol clips, which were found to be dislodged at many places.

“It is a case of sabotage. Planned attacks on the railways have been going on in this area for quite some time. The railway line was cut and the pandrol clips were opened. But without a forensic report, we cannot say whether there was an explosion or not,” Mr. Kanojia told reporters here.