The Bikaner-Guwahati Express (15633) of the North-East Frontier Railway Zone derailed between Domohani and New Mainaguri , leading to the death of 5 people and leaving many injured. Rescue operations are still underway.
In the view of this accident, the Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw mentioned ” It is a very unfortunate Incident. We are currently focused on rescue and relief operations.”
The Railway minister is monitoring the situation and will be visiting the site soon.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken stock of the situation over the phone call .
The incident happened in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district at around 5pm and over 10 coaches have been affected. An ex-gratia of Rs.5 lakh for deceased, Rs.1 lakh for severely injured people and Rs.25,000 for those with minor injuries has been announced by the Indian Railways.
As per the reports, nearly 1,200 passengers were on board where 177 passengers boarded the train from Bikaner and 98 passengers boarded at Patna Junction.
The people who are injured in the derailment are being taken to hospitals in Mainaguri and Jalpaiguri district. Over 40 people had been rescued. Around 51 ambulances were present at the spot after the accident.
Emergency numbers have been issued by Eastern railways, Rajasthan (01512725942), Assam (0361-2731621, 2731622, 2731623), West Bengal (8134054999).
A high-level inquiry by the commission of Railway safety has been added to find the cause of the accident. The State Disaster Response Force and team of firefighters had also reached the spot.
