Goods trains collide, five staffers killed

BHUBANESWAR/KEONJHAR: Two goods trains collided  killing at least five railway staffers at Keonjhar’s Tangripali, about 125 km from Bhubaneswar, during the small hours of Wednesday. The mishap occurred when a cargo-laden train rammed another near the Tangripali station along the Jakhpura-Keonjhar Section. So far, four bodies have been retrieved. East Coast Railway (ECoR) officials said gas cutters were used to break into the mangled engines. One of the trains is believed to have jumped the signal leading to the mishap at around 1 am. The railway segment, where the incident occurred, was a single-line section. There were five staffers in the trains, including two locomotive pilots, their deputies besides a locomotive inspector. One of the locomotive pilots was identified as Sk Razak. Senior officials of ECoR, including General Manager AK Vohra, rushed to the spot to supervise restoration work but the heavy rain and extensive damage to the trains caused delay as removing the affected wagons from the tracks proved to  daunting. Such was the impact of the collision that the engines of the two trains were in a state of wreck while the wagons piled on each other. Preliminary investigation suggested that the goods train, coming from Keonjhar, appeared to have overshot the signal and headed straight into the other one which was given passage for parking at the station. A statutory inquiry by the Commissioner of Railway Safety has been ordered and the exact reasons can be ascertained after the report is submitted, Divisional Railway Manager, Khurda Road, Sanjiv Garg said. Two cranes, from Chakradharpur and Khurda Road, had been sent to the site for removing the wagons and clearing the tracks. Going by the problems faced by the railway officials, the line could be restored only by Thursday. A relief train from Bhadrak was also sent to the spot. While traffic has been suspended along the route, the Puri-Banspani Express was cancelled following the accident. Similarly, goods train movement was affected since the route is used mainly for freight movement.