There was widespread panic aboard a train in Kolkata's underground Metro network when two coaches of a train derailed as it was approaching the Central station.
The derailment plunged the train into darkness during the peak office-hour rush on Wednesday morning. Anxious passengers spent nearly 40 minutes inside the coaches before they were evacuated. No casualties were reported.
A sense of outrage, panic and concern among the passengers was palpable as some broke into tears when they were finally rescued from the cramped compartments. They had to be evacuated through the driver's cabin door as the automatic gates of the compartments would not give way.
Two persons reportedly fell ill and had to be rushed to the Calcutta Medical College for treatment.
Services of the Metro were disrupted around 9.30 a.m. after the coaches derailed. The passengers were evacuated by 10.06 a.m., said a Metro Railways spokesperson.
The incident has brought issues related to passenger safety to the fore. Concerns about inadequate infrastructure and frequent disruptions in services as a result of technical snags have been raised repeatedly, particularly after the extension of Metro services to the southern suburbs in August last year.
“They are playing with people's lives,” said Shyamal Chakraborty, a member of the central committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
“Along with the extension of the railway lines and addition of stations, new coaches should also have been added. Secondly, the attitude to maintenance is lackadaisical,” he said.
Describing the incident as “terrifying,” Commissioner of Police Gautam Mohan Chakrabarthi said that it may have created a law and order problem.
Mr. Chakrabarthi also said that the disaster management teams were ready, but there were some problems in allowing them entry at the site.
A meeting will be held by the Metro officials and the police on Thursday.
The incident has called for a departmental inquiry into the incident.
The cause for the derailment was not stated, but a segment of the tracks near the Central station were found to be damaged. Services in the Central section of the Railways were suspended, but truncated services on the northern and southern sections were started after a few hours.
