Kanchanjunga Express Train Accident Update
A horrific train incident happened in Kolkata which took the lives of at least 9 passengers. Apart from the deceased, more than 40 people were injured in this incident. This incident happened on Monday morning, June 17, when three rear coaches of the stationary Sealdah-bound Kanchanjunga Express derailed following a goods train hit with it from the rear in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal. As soon as the incident was reported, the services of other trains were halted on Monday. In the last reports, Officials mentioned their fear of the rising toll of the deceased as numerous agencies of the state and Centre worked to rescue passengers who were trapped inside the train.
The train accident in Bengal happened at around 08:30 AM. According to the reports, the accident took place some 11km from New Jalpaiguri station in north Bengal. It is worth noting that this station is considered one of the largest and busiest stations in the Northeast Frontier Railway zone in eastern and northeastern India. After the incident reports, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his sorrow and announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for the families who lost their loved ones in this horrific incident. Rs 2.5 lakh compensation is announced to each grievous and those who sustained minor injuries will get Rs 50,000 in the form of compensation.
The investigation of the incident is taking place by railway officials. As per officials in a preliminary investigation, it came to notice that the loco pilot of the goods train disregarded the signal which led to this tragic incident. The reckless behaviour of the loco pilot had led to the mishap. However, the loco pilot of the goods train and the guard of the passenger train were also on the list of deceased who lost their lives in this incident. As we mentioned above, a total of 19 trains were cancelled on the New Jalpaiguri, Siliguri Junction, Bagdora and Aluabari Road routes due to the incident. However, the railway services have been resumed Tuesday on the down line. The latest reports have included 20 more victims on the list of injured passengers. As of now, 9 have died and 60 passengers are injured and have been admitted to the hospitals.
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Other reports state that on Tuesday, 18 June, undamaged coaches of the Kanchanjunga Express reached their destination. President Droupadi Murmu also expressed sorrow and extended prayers and condolences to the grieving families. She even wished for the fast recovery of injured people. Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee made a tweet regarding the same and expressed her sorrow and shock over the mishap on Monday. She wrote in a post on X, “I am shocked to learn about a tragic train accident in Phansidewa area of Darjeeling district.”
She is taking reports on the incident and urged people to pray for the fast recovery of the injured. She even criticised the central government over their alleged negligence towards Railways. She accused them of getting solely involved in the publicity of Vande Bharat trains. She said, “I started so many things, but they are only doing publicity for Vande Bharat trains. Where is Duronto Express? After the Rajdhani Express, Duronto was the fastest train. During the time of elections, they inaugurated Vande Bharats. This does not work…”