Accident- Bikaner-Guwahati Express Crash: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw visited the site of the Bikaner-Guwahati Express train crash(Accident) in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal on Friday and said that according to reports preliminary reports, it turns out that there was a defect in the equipment of the locomotive.
Twelve carriages of the Bikaner-Guwahati Express train derailed near Domohani in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal on Thursday and some of them overturned. Nine people were killed and at least 36 others were injured in the crash.
Railway Minister Vaishnav said the cause of the crash or Accident would only be known after the engine equipment was fully opened. The minister also met with the injured passengers at the hospital. After inspecting the location, he told reporters: “Preliminary findings suggest there was a fault in the railway engine equipment, not in the speed of the train or the tracks. There will be marks on the The cause of the accident will be known only after opening it and looking at the markings.
The Minister of Railways said: “The root cause of the accident will soon be known. The unfortunate incident is under investigation. We pray for the peace of the souls of those killed and wish those injured a speedy recovery. Discussions are ongoing with the families regarding the distribution of the amount ex gratia.
Later, after meeting the injured in hospital, the Union Minister said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was constantly monitoring the situation. “I am in constant contact with the Prime Minister and I regularly update him on the situation,” he said.
Earlier today, Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) Public Relations Manager (CPRO) Guneet Kaur said Vaishnav reached Domohani station at 9:38 a.m. and left there on a motorized carriage within two minutes. . Kaur said: “He inspected the carriage himself to check the condition of the track and the repair work on site. He also thoroughly inspected the ‘frame’ of the locomotive and its ‘braking system’.
He said the death toll in the crash had risen to nine, three of whom have yet to be identified. 36 other people were injured in the accident. Of these, 23 people are being treated at Jalpaiguri Super Specialty Hospital, while six people are admitted to North Bengal Medical College and seven to Maynaguri Rural Hospital. He said the accident happened near Domohani in the Alipurduar division of the Northeast Frontier Railway at 5 p.m. Thursday.
Kaur said: “A commission of inquiry has been set up to find out the reasons for the derailment.” He said NFR chief executive Anshul Gupta reached the spot at 12:08 p.m. Thursday evening. It monitors track rehabilitation work to normalize the movement of traffic. Gupta visited various hospitals Thursday evening and in the early hours of Friday and inquired about the condition of the injured.
CPRO said a special train carrying 290 stranded passengers left for Guwahati from the spot around 9:50 p.m. Special Director General of Police (Law and Order) GP Singh tweeted and informed that this special train arrived at Guwahati station around 8:30 am.
The NFR said in a statement on Thursday that 1,053 passengers were on board the train at the time of the crash. Indian Railways announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased, Rs 1 lakh each for the seriously injured and Rs 25,000 each for the slightly injured passengers.
The CPRO said at least 10 trains were canceled on Friday. Some trains’ services will end before their destination stations, while some trains will be started from other stations instead of their departure stations. At the same time, the route of 10 other long-distance trains was changed.
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