Cuttack: A 22-year-old man from Bengal died and more than 30 passengers were injured on Sunday when 11 Bengaluru-Kamakhya AC Express coaches were deranged near Manguli-Choudwar Passenger on the outskirts of Cuttack.
The train, which transported more than 1,000 passengers, had abandoned the Cuttack station at 11.43 am and derailed 11 minutes later after crossing the Kendrapada Road station. Most of the injured are from Bengala and Assam.
The derailment follows the largest railway disaster in Odisha on June 2, 2023, when the Express Coromandel broke a stationary loading train in the Balasore district and three of its derailled coaches beat the end of the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express tail crossing the station at the same time. The accident killed 296 people and wounded 1,200.
Railway officials said that the cause of Sunday’s derailment is under investigation, although preliminary reports suggest a road defect in an area where maintenance work was underway.
Police sources said that the lonely mortality, the Alipurduar subhankar ray, occurred when he jumped out of the panic. An autopsy is underway. The Railroad Ministry announced a compensation of RS 5 Lakh for the families of the deceased, RS 2.5 Lakh for those seriously injured and 50,000 RS for passengers with minor wounds.
Dr. Jayanta Kumar Panda, a medical professor at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack, said 30 injured passengers were admitted, including three in serious condition.
The residents, the first to respond to NDRF, the fire and emergency services of Odisha, and RPF helped evacuate passengers, many of whom suffered dehydration in heat. Rescue and restoration efforts are ongoing, with teams from NDRF and SDRF on the site.
The memories of the Balasore accident of 2023 caused an immediate local response. “Fortunately, the coaches did not turn off. They had diverted from the track. If they had been capped, the victim could have been more,” said Smitani Swain, one of the first to respond.
When the locals arrived, many passengers had already left the train. “We provide help,” said Swain, volunteer of a local NGO.
Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi ordered the senior officials to supervise the aid and rescue operations. “The authorities are on the site, ensuring assistance and restoration of normality as soon as possible. Aid lines activated for your support,” Majhi said.
(Inputs by Debabrata Mohapatra in Bhubaneswar, Mukut das in Guwahati)