Inquiry ordered into Bihar rail accident, many trains diverted as restoration works continue

PTI, Oct 12, 2023, 1:47 PM IST

The railways on Thursday ordered a high-level inquiry into the derailment of the North East Express in Bihar’s Buxar district, in which four persons were killed and several people injured, officials said.

Twenty-three coaches of the train, on the way to Assam from Delhi, derailed near the Raghunathpur station around 9.53 pm on Wednesday, they said.

”A high-level inquiry has been ordered to investigate the reason behind the incident,” East Central Railway’s chief public relations officer Birendra Kumar said in a statement.

An ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh will be given to the next of kin of each deceased, and Rs 50,000 will be given to the injured, he said.

The Bihar government also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh for the kin of the deceased.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that of the four people who died, one was from Bihar while the rest were from other states.

”It’s a very unfortunate incident. We have decided to provide an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the next kin of all four people who died in the accident. Besides, the state government is also providing the best medical care to all injured passengers who have been admitted to different hospitals in the state,” he said.

”Our officials are closely monitoring the situation, and they are in touch with all agencies concerned,” he added.

ECR general manager Tarun Prakash, who was in Raghunathpur to supervise the restoration works, told PTI-Video that the priority is to clear the tracks.

”The number of casualties is four. The number of injured passengers is 40. The cause of derailment will be known only after a proper investigation. At present our priority is to clear the tracks. Until normal traffic is restored, trains running on the route will be diverted,” he said.

However, a Railway Police Force (RPF) officer had on Wednesday night said that at least 70 people were injured in the accident, and taken to local hospitals.

On the other side, the statement issued by the ECR said that while five passengers were critically injured, 25 received minor injuries.

Prakash said that the cause of the accident will be known only after the investigation is complete.

There were around 1,500 people on the train when it started from Anand Vihar in Delhi, and of them, 1,006 people boarded a relief train from Danapur at 5 am to reach their destinations in Bihar, West Bengal and Assam, Northeast Frontier Railway CPRO Sabyasachi De told PTI.

”Around 1,500 passengers boarded the train when it started in Delhi at 7.40 am yesterday. The number is a little high because those having partial tickets or were on the wait list also boarded,” he said.

The relief train will reach Kamakhya in Guwahati around 11 pm, he said, stating that the passengers were being provided food and arrangements were also being made for their last-mile travel by road from the destination station.

Cranes and equipment used in cutting through metal are being used for clearing the tracks, where lay a number of derailed coaches, some of which overturned, officials said.

The injured people were undergoing treatment at hospitals, mostly in Buxar town and Ara, where the neighbouring Bhojpur district is headquartered, they said.

Ten injured passengers were taken to AIIMS-Patna, they added.

”Ten patients have been admitted to the Trauma Center of AIIMS-Patna. Six of them had minor injuries,” its executive director doctor Gopal Krushna Pal told PTI, adding that the other four persons have fractures in various parts of their bodies.

”No one required ventilator support. No one is in a life-threatening condition. The treatment of the four people who had fractures is going on very well,” he added.

Union minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey, who is the MP from Buxar, spoke to the director of AIIMS-Patna, and also visited the accident site.

Expressing condolences for the loss of lives, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw posted on X, ”Will find the root cause of derailment.” Electric wires, poles and tracks have been damaged due to the accident, officials said, adding that 21 trains operating on the route have been diverted as a result.