Six persons were killed and 40 others injured when New Delhi-bound Seemanchal Express derailed near Hajipur early Sunday morning.
According to railway sources, nine coaches of the ill-fated 12847 Jogbani-Anand Vihar (Delhi) derailed at 3.58 am near Sahdei Buzurg, on Hajipur-Barauni section in Vaishali district. The cause of the accident is not known yet.
The train had left Jogbani (Kishanganj) and travelled more than 340 kilometres when the derailment took place under Sonepur division of the East Central Railway (ECR) in the wee hours of Sunday.
Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of ECR, Rajesh Kumar, said a probe had been ordered into the accident which would be conducted by the Commissioner, Railway Safety (CRS), Eastern Zone, Latif Khan.
“The derailed bogies included AC-3 tier, three sleeper coaches and general compartments. All senior officials of the ECR, NDRF, SDRF and local police rushed to the accident site to supervise the rescue operation. The train traffic, which was badly affected, was restored later in the day,” the official said.
The Railway Ministry has announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the next kin of the deceased, while Rs 1 lakh for those seriously injured and Rs 50,000 for those with minor injuries.
The Nitish regime too announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh each to the next kin of those killed.
Those who were killed have been identified as Sudarshan Das, Ilcha Devi and Indira Devi (all three from Bihar), Ansar Alam, Shayda Khatoon, and Shamsuddin Alam (all from West Bengal). Those injured are recuperating in nearby hospitals.