Two persons were killed and 20 others injured after at least 18 coaches of the Howrah-Mumbai Mail derailed in Jharkhand’s Seraikela-Kharsawan district early on Tuesday.
The accident occurred at 3:45 AM near Barabamboo, around 80 km from Jamshedpur, under the Chakradharpur Division of South Eastern Railway (SER).
SER spokesperson Om Prakash Charan said there was another derailment of a goods train nearby, but it was not yet clear whether the two accidents occurred simultaneously.
The railways announced an inquiry into the train accident, another SER official said.
“Two persons were killed and 20 injured as 18 coaches of the Howrah-Mumbai Mail derailed near Barabamboo,” West Singhbhum Deputy Commissioner Kuldeep Chaudhary, who is camping at the accident site, told the media.
He added that the “Howrah-Mumbai train hit the stationary goods train”.
The accident site is near the border between West Singhbhum and Seraikela-Kharsawan districts.
“At least 18 coaches of the 22-coach 12810 Howrah-Mumbai Mail via Nagpur derailed near Barabamboo station in SER's Chakradharpur Division at 3.45 AM,” the SER spokesperson said.
Of these, 16 were passenger coaches, one power car and one pantry car, he added.
“The accident will be probed by a team, headed by Commissioner, Safety, Railways,” Aditya Kumar Choudhary, Senior DCM, Chakradharpur, SER told the media.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren directed officials to expedite relief operations and help the injured people.
“The railways announced Rs 10 lakh ex gratia for kin of each deceased, Rs 5 lakh for those with major injuries, Rs 1 lakh for those with minor injuries, the Senior DCM, Chakradharpur, told the media.
According to the railway CPRO, rescue and relief operations have been completed.
JMM legislator and Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s wife Kalpana Soren urged the JMM and INDIA Bloc workers to extend help to the district administration in to bring normalcy.
The South Eastern Railway has opened helpline numbers for passengers. The numbers are 022-22694040 for Mumbai, 08799982712 for Bhusawal, 7757912790 for Nagpur, 0657-2290324 for Tata, 06587-238072 for Chakradharpur, 0661-2501072 and 0661-2500244 for Rourkela and 06645-272530 for Jharsuguda.
Helpline numbers for Howrah are 9433357920 and 033-26382217, Shalimar (7595074427 and 6295531471) and Kharagpur (03222-293764), the SER said.
JMM slams Union Railway Minister
Hours after the Howrah-Mumbai Mail derailed in Jharkhand, the JMM on Tuesday said Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw should "stop making reels" and focus on his job instead.
The ruling party in Jharkhand also said the "entire responsibility" for the train accident "lies with the railway minister and the central government".
In a post on X, JMM said, "Hemant Soren Ji or INDIA Bloc has no hand in this. Do not give threats to get us trapped by ED/CBI." Tagging former chief minister and Bharatiya Janata Party state president Babulal Marandi, it said, "The entire responsibility for this (train accident) lies with your Railway Minister and the central government. Stop the Railway Minister from making reels and request him to focus on railways." Opposition parties have been accusing the railway minister of being "busy making reels for social media platforms and not concentrating on passenger safety".
Former Jharkhand chief minister Champai Soren expressed concern over the “frequent” train accidents.
“The train accidents have become frequent in the country. There are irregularities or carelessness. The central government should take cognisance of it and rectify the anomalies," Soren told reporters outside the assembly.
He also demanded a thorough probe into the train derailment near Barabamboo and action against those responsible for this.
West Bengal Governor's reaction
CV Ananda Bose on Tuesday expressed anguish over the Howrah-Mumbai Mail derailment in Jharkhand, in which two persons lost their lives and 20 others were injured.
He extended condolences to the families of those killed in the accident and wished speedy recovery of the injured people.
“HG (Honourable Governor) has expressed his condolences to the bereaved families and wishes fast recovery of those injured in the Howrah-CSMT Express train derailment near Jharkhand’s Chakradharpur today,” Raj Bhavan posted on the X.
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