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Rediff.com  » News » One killed, 22 injured as Amrapali Express derails in Bihar

One killed, 22 injured as Amrapali Express derails in Bihar

Source: PTI
October 08, 2009 14:21 IST
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One passenger was killed and 22 others were injured, including one seriously, when an engine and six bogies of the Amrapali Express jumped off the tracks near Pasraha station in Bihar's Khagaria district on Wednesday night.

The Amritsar-Katihar Express, carrying over 500 passengers, derailed at around 11.45 pm on Wednesday near Pasraha station where a ditch was formed due to water-logging alongside the down line, East Central Railway sources said.

Chief Public Relations Officer, East Central Railway, Dilip Kumar said Puran Singh (22), a resident of Purnia, died on the spot while 22 others, including a woman, suffered injuries.

Of the injured, 21 were given first aid on the spot, and the woman, Shanti Devi, who suffered head injuries, was taken to a hospital at Khagaria for surgery, Kumar said.

The district authorities, including the superintendent of police, reached the spot and launched operations to rescue the trapped passengers inside the strayed bogies of which five were sleeper coaches, Kumar said.

A special train was soon rushed from Barauni to ferry other passengers to Katihar in the wee hours of Thursday, he said, adding that all the passengers were pulled out from the bogies.

The railways provided an ex-gratia of Rs 15,000 to the bereaved family of Puran Singh and Rs 5,000 to the woman, the officials said.

Divisional Railway Manager, Sonepur division, R K Agarwal, said two accident relief trains from Sonepur and Katihar each and several railway officials, including the assistant general manager of the ECR, Hajipur, were at the spot soon after the mishap.

Kumar said the commissioner of railway safety, Eastern Circle, under the civil aviation ministry would probe the mishap.

Train services in the Barauni-Katihar section of the ECR were badly affected. While some local trains were cancelled, 16 long-distance trains were diverted through Barauni and Katihar.

Repairs are on to clear the blocked line by this evening, he added.
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