At least two passengers died and several others were injured in a collision between a passenger train and a goods train moving on a single track near the Kathjodi station here on Thursday evening.
Railway sources said the Bhubaneswar-Bhadrak passenger train hit the goods train from behind allegedly due to wrong signal on the track.
Top railway officials, district police officials rushed to the spot along with teams to rescue the trapped injured passengers.
“While we have retrieved one body, we could see another passenger trapped dangerously inside the mangled coaches,” Cuttack district Collector NC Mishra, who was supervising the rescue operation, had said.
But soon later, the trapped passenger’s body was recovered.
Meanwhile, at least 17 injured, including two in critical conditions, were shifted to the SCB Medical College Hospital.
The Khurda Road DRM, the ECoR Chief Safety Officer and other senior railway officials arrived at the spot and were busy removing the mangled coaches from the track using gas cutters.
Train services were affected on the Cuttack-Bhubaneswar route as both the tracks on the route were blocked by the derailed coaches. Railway officials said important trains like the Puri-Durg Express were diverted.
