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Bengal rail disaster toll may go up to 500

Arup Chanda in Calcutta

Nearly 500 people are feared to have been killed and 1,000 injured in what will easily rank among the world's worst rail disasters at Gaisal in West Bengal, 14km from Islampur in Katihar division of the North-Eastern Railway.

The accident occurred at 0230 IST today when the Delhi-bound Brahmaputra Mail and the Guwahati-bound Awadh-Assam Express collided head-on. Fifteen bogies of the two trains were smashed in the accident.

So far, 250 bodies have been recovered, but many more are trapped inside the wreckage. Gas cutters are being used to recover the trapped bodies.

The injured are being treated at Kishenganj, North Bengal Medical College, Islampur Sadar Hospital, New Jalpaiguri Hospital, Kanjipara BSF Hospital and Siliguri Hospital.

Union Railway Minister Nitish Kumar, West Bengal minister Ashok Ghosh and senior officials of the Indian Railways have reached the site.

Earlier, there was speculation that a massive explosion had taken place in one of the trains, causing the accident. Railway officials, however, later confirmed that there was no explosion, but a head-on collision caused by defective signalling.

Most of the passengers in both trains were fast asleep when the accident occurred. Most of those killed on the Brahmaputra Mail were personnel of the Indian Army, Border Security Force and Central Reserve Police Force.

West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu expressed "deep shock" at the incident and said the local authorities have been told to carry out relief work and arrange for proper treatment for the injured.

The relief operations are being supervised by Deputy Inspector General I M Punata of the BSF (Panjipara) and Ghum Singh Dhadhore of the 48th battalion of the BSF.

According to both officials, the BSF personnel have recovered 200 bodies so far. The accident spot is about 6km from the Panjipara camp and the jawans rushed to the accident site as soon as they heard about it.

According to police sources, defective signalling saw the two speeding trains ram into each other, with the engine and eight bogies of the Brahmaputra Mail and the engine and seven bogies of the Awadh-Assam Express being thrown off the tracks. Both locomotives caught fire.

According to eyewitnesses, it was a horrific sight with a fire raging inside the coaches and people screaming. Fire Brigade personnel from Raiganj, Islampur , Kishenganj and Siliguri rushed to the spot, but the inferno could be brought under control only at 0800 hours.

According to police sources, news of the accident first reached Islampur police station. Senior district police officials immediately left for the site.

According to Eastern Railway sources, train services in the region have been disrupted as a result of the terrible accident. Communication between the North-east and the rest of the country will remain severely affected until the link is restored.

Following are the telephone numbers of some of the hospitals to which the injured have been admitted:

Kishanganj Medical College Hospital: 52 people have been admitted. Tel: 06456 23110, 06456 23304.

Kishenganj Border Security Force Hospital: 33 admitted. Tel: 06456 22580.

New Jalpaiguri Railway Hospital: 19 admitted. Tel: 0353-561811.

Islampur Civil Hospital: 157 admitted.

Apart from these, some of the telephone lines set up for information on the accident are:

Delhi: (011) 334 0449, 396 7312
Guwahati: (0361) 540389, 570110

Earlier report

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