Two passengers were killed and 47 others injured when eight bogies of the Tata-Bilaspur passenger train got derailed, after Maoists blew up a railway track on Thursday night, in Jharkhand's West Singhbhum district.
The blast near Ghaghra Halt in the district occurred at 9.15 pm, shortly after a pilot engine passed the area, South Eastern Railway Public Relations Officer Soumitra Majumdar told PTI.
"Maoists blew up a portion of the railway track which caused the derailment. Three bogies have been badly damaged. There were also three to four blasts nearby to deter rescuers," Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said.
"I am monitoring the situation and have asked senior railway officials to rush to the spot," she added.
Five bogies of the train were derailed and three other toppled over. She said two bodies were found in an overturned bogie, while 47 passengers were injured.
Six passengers were trapped in another capsized bogie. Three passengers have been rescued so far and rescuers were using gas cutters to gain entry to the coaches, three of which were badly damaged, Banerjee said.
"Railway staff and rescue teams have reached the spot, and are cutting open the bogies to rescue the injured passengers," said a senior official.
The guard of the train A Biswas said, "There was a strong jerk as the train was moving and stone chips went flying in all directions. Dust spread as the train came to a halt."
A relief train from Rourkela has reached the accident spot. Meanwhile, train movement on the Howrah-Mumbai route came to a halt following the accident, railway sources said.
The New Delhi-Howrah-Bilaspur Rajdhani Express, Koraput-Howrah Samaleshwari Express and Pune-Howrah Azad Hind Express have been stopped near Rourkela station, railway sources said.
