News Watch News Service
JHARGRAM, 28 MAY: At least 100 persons were killed and more than 150 injured when thirteen coaches of the Mumbai-bound 2102 Up Howrah-Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Jnaneswari Express derailed following a suspected sabotage on tracks by Maoists and within minutes, five of its derailed coaches was struck by a speeding goods train near Jhargram in Midnapore West in the early hours today.
The accident occurred in the Maoist-dominated forest areas between Surdiah and Khemasuli halts in Kharagpur-Tatanagar section of South Eastern Railway (SER) around 1.30 a.m. today.
The DGP, Bhupindar Singh who was among the first to arrive at the accident site said, police have found PCPA leaflets claiming responsibility for the attack. The PCPA, however, denied having any hand behind the incident.
Many passengers are still trapped in two mangled coaches of the passenger train while the CRPF personnel, Indian Air Force (IAF) and National Disaster Response Force of Indian Railways are striving hard to pull them out.
The injured passengers have been admitted to the Kharagpur rail hospital, Kharagpur state general hospital and Midnapore Medical College and Hospital. The rest of the passengers who escaped fatal injuries were shifted to Kharagpur and Kolkata.
Railway officials suspect that Maoist supporters may have removed the fishplate that caused the derailment of the passenger train. However, the deaths were mainly caused by the goods train ramming into five passenger coaches S-3, S-4, S-5. S-6 and S-7 derailed.
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