A major train accident was averted near Kanarowa railway station of Simdega district, under Ranchi Railway Division, on Wednesday evening. The accident occurred when the engine of Hatia-Rourkela Passenger train fell into Dev River near poll no 526/ 7-8 of South Cabin at around 8.30 pm. There were around 200 passengers in the train, but no casualties were reported. The train driver too escaped narrowly.
Sources said that the engine of Hatia-Rourkela Passenger train around 700 meters away from Kanarwa station fell into Dev river breaking the slip siding near pole number 526 / 7-8 of South Cabin. Sources said that though there were no casualties in the accident, the passengers on the train were panicked and scared after the accident.
The railway staff and officials pacified the scared passengers informing them that no major train accident had occurred, as only the engine had derailed. Senior railway officials and staff from Hatia rushed to the spot after receiving information about the train accident.
The DRM immediately dispatched an accident relief train from Hatia to put the engine back on track and normalize operations. At Kanarwa railway station, the railway officials worked till mid-night in putting the engine back on track.
Meanwhile, railway officials at Hatia said that a probe has been ordered to find out the reason behind the train accident. The probe team will enquire how the engine of the passenger train derailed. A senior railway official said, “We have ordered an inquiry into how the engine derailed. Meanwhile, the Railway has suspended station master Mukesh Kumar and points man Aman Kumar for negligence of duty.”
DRM Neeraj Ambastha said that this train left for Rourkela at 4:40 pm on Wednesday. It was supposed to go through the main line, but the pointsman put the train into the buffer line instead of the main line. When the driver realized the fault he applied the emergency brake, but due to sudden application of brake the engine fell into the river with bogies coming to halt suddenly.
The railway engineers worked till midnight adding a new engine to the remaining seven bogies after which the train left for Rourkela station. Meanwhile, the passengers who reached Kanarwa barefoot were scared and panicked after the accident. Inspector of the Railway Protection Force Vijay Pandey distributed biscuits and water among the passengers at Kanarwa railway station. The passengers who mostly comprised villagers were horrified after the accident.