Three railway employees were killed and some passengers were injured when the Howrah-Jagdalpur Samaleswari Express (18005) had a head-on collision with a track-maintenance ‘tower car’ between Singapur and Keutaguda stations in Odisha’s Rayagada district around 4.30 p.m. on Tuesday.
The engine of the train caught fire due to the head-on collision, while two coaches got derailed. Sources said the express train was on the same track as the track-maintenance tower car, which was engaged for track work.
Citing “human error”, the East Coast Railway authorities have suspended the station masters of the Singapur and Keutapur stations. The Commissioner of Railway Safety, Kolkata, has been tasked with a detailed probe into the mishap.
According to a press release, the deceased were Suresh, a technician, Sagar, a senior electrical engineer, and Gouri Naidu, a technician.
At the time of the accident, there were about 148 passengers in the train. A few of them received minor injuries and were given first aid. The Railways said in a statement it had ordered a probe into the matter.
