1 killed, 66 hurt in train derailment

One person was killed and 66 were injured when six coaches and the engine of the New Delhi-bound 4055 Down...

One person was killed and 66 were injured when six coaches and the engine of the New Delhi-bound 4055 Down Brahmaputra Mail derailed at Nijbari near New Jalpaiguri in North Bengal late on Sunday night. The derailment occurred at around 11 p.m. The Railways is yet to ascertain the reason behind the accident.

The deceased, yet to identified, was said to be travelling in the pantry car and was probably from among the pantry staff. Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) officials, however, could not confirm this. Of the injured, six are reported to have received serious injuries.

The injured are being treated at the Railway Hospital and the North Bengal Medical College Hospital at New Jalpaiguri, NFR chief PRO Trikalagya Rabha said in Guwahati on Monday.

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It was only at 10 a.m. on Monday that a special train was arranged from Katihar to ferry the 1,200-1,300 stranded passengers to Delhi. Train movement on the Up line section was restored at 10.10 a.m. Officials said the Down line was likely to be restored by evening.

While NFR officials were tightlipped about the cause of the accident, sources, while not ruling out a sabotage, said it could be a result of the rail fracture caused due to sudden contraction of rails during winter.

Top officials of the Railways Protection Force in New Delhi said they had so far received no information about the possibility of any kind of sabotage on the tracks.