Lagatar24 Desk
Kolkata, Jan 13: A train accident took place in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district on Thursday. Multiple bogies of the Guwahati-Bikaner Express (15633UP) have derailed. The accident claimed the lives of three people. According to some estimates, the derailment caused damage to as many as 12 carriages.
When the disaster occurred near Mainaguri in Jalpaiguri about 5.15 p.m. on Thursday, the train was travelling from Bikaner in Rajasthan to Guwahati in Assam via Patna. The Bikaner Express was going through Jalpaiguri at the time of the event, and Mainaguri was not one of the train’s 34 stops.
A total of 1,200 passengers boarded the train, with 308 of them coming from Bikaner.
According to preliminary information, several passengers are suspected to have been injured in the derailment. The injured are being sent to the district hospitals in Mainaguri and Jalpaiguri.
At the scene of the disaster, railway police have already initiated a search and rescue operation. Two National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) teams are also on their way from Siliguri to the scene.
Emergency numbers have been provided by Eastern Railways for Rajasthan (01512725942), Assam (0361-2731621, 2731622, 2731623), and West Bengal (8134054999), and 51 ambulances have been seen at the scene. Railways Divisional Manager Dilip Kumar Singh is also on his way to the scene, along with a number of high officials.
Meanwhile, all North Bengal hospitals have been ordered to be on standby.
In a phone chat with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi assessed the situation.
