Six passengers were killed and over 30 injured when 11 coaches of the Delhi-bound Seemanchal Express derailed early on Sunday in Vaishali district of Bihar. The coaches of the superfast Jogbani-Anand Vihar Seemanchal Express jumped the rails near Sahadai Buzurg in the Sonpur Division of East Central Railway (ECR).
Probe ordered
Chief Public Relations Officer, East Central Zone, Rajesh Kumar said one general coach, one AC coach B3, three sleeper coaches — S8, S9 and S10 — and six other coaches derailed. While an inquiry has been ordered, a rail fracture is said to have led to the derailment, railway officials said.
The six victims have been identified as Ilcha Devi, 66, Indira Devi, 60, Shamsuddin Alam, 26, Ansar Alam, 19, Shaida Khatoon, 40, and Sudarshan Das, 60, the Government Railway Police (GRP) said.
Vaishali District Magistrate Rajiv Roushan said, “Those who sustained minor injuries were discharged from the local hospital after primary medical help but 29 were referred to the district hospital and seven were later shifted to the Patna Medical College and Hospital.”
Locals were the first on the site helping the injured before teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), along with railway officials, doctors, and district administration officials arrived.
Ex gratia announced
Minister of Railways & Coal Piyush Goyal, later, announced an ex-gratia of ₹5 lakh to the kin of the deceased and ₹1 lakh to those grievously injured and ₹50,000 to those with minor injuries. Mr. Kumar said Latif Khan, Commissioner, Railway Safety (Eastern Zone), would conduct an inquiry into the accident.
Twelve unaffected bogies carrying 500 passengers left for Danapur at 9.52 a.m. where 11 coaches were added to the train bound for Delhi. Some passengers were also taken to Hajipur in 10 buses, officials said.
Railway Board Chairman Vinod Kumar Yadav, along with other senior officials, has reached the accident site.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who was in Patna to address a rally, expressed grief over the accident. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi also condoled the loss of lives.
(With PTI inputs)
