Railway authorities have formed a four-member investigation committee to look into the derailment of the Dhaka-Chilahati Nilsagar Express train.
The train departed Dhaka for Chilahati at 6:45am on Wednesday. After passing Santahar station (at the 283km mark), while heading towards Tilakpur station, nine coaches derailed at the 286km mark in the Bagmari area of Adamdighi upazila, Bogura district, due to the driver disregarding a caution signal.
Sixty-six people were injured in the incident. Among them, 20 are undergoing treatment at Naogaon Sadar Hospital, 40 were discharged after receiving first aid, and 6 were discharged after primary treatment at Bogura’s Adamdighi Upazila Health Complex.
Relief trains are heading to the site from Ishwardi and Parbatipur to carry out rescue operations.
At the time of the accident, engineering department personnel were working on track changes, holding banners and flags and sending caution messages. The station was also supposed to issue a caution order. It is suspected that the train driver’s failure to follow this is the cause of the derailment.
Eyewitnesses reported that the train was crowded with passengers heading home for Eid. Many passengers were traveling on the roof. At least 15 people were injured while trying to get down quickly during the derailment. In total, around 50 passengers were injured, but no fatalities have been reported so far. The injured received local medical treatment.
A four-member investigation committee has been formed on this matter, led by the chief transport officer. The other members of the committee are the mechanical engineer, the chief engineer, and the chief signal engineer.
All trains scheduled to depart Dhaka this evening and night have already left. Only the Panchagarh Express may not be able to arrive if the section is not cleared.
The Chilahati Express, Drutojan Express, and Kurigram Express will be able to depart Dhaka on time. Once the rescue operation is complete, none of these will be obstructed.
Even if the rescue work is not finished, the Kurigram Express can be sent from Santahar to Kurigram via an alternative route. If the rescue work is not completed, the Drutojan Express, which departed Dhaka this evening, may also be stranded en route.
The Nilsagar Express and Ekota Express, scheduled to depart Dhaka Thursday morning, may face some delays.
The railway authorities have sincerely apologised for the temporary inconvenience caused to passengers.
