At least one person was killed and property worth several crores gutted when oil tankers of a train derailed and caught fire at a remote station in Kishanganj district of Bihar on Wednesday, rail and police authorities said.
At least 17 tankers caught fire and two fell into a river when the train went off the track near a village between Aluabari and Mangurjan stations on the New Jalpaiguri-Katihar section of the Northeast Frontier Railway, Inspector-General (Railways) Vinay Kumar told The Hindu .
A villager, identified as Moti-ur-Rehman, who was working at a field was charred to death, sources said.
‘Cause not yet ascertained'
“The cause of derailment is yet to be ascertained as the area around the accident has been badly burnt,” Mr. Kumar said, adding that the train carried more than 50 tankers.
“Around 30 tankers have been detached,” he added.
Fire-tenders have been rushed in from the adjoining districts of Purnea and Katihar and neighbouring Islampur in West Bengal to douse the fire.
Railway authorities said train services between New Jalpaiguri and Aluabari stations were disrupted.
