Officials said that a goods train derailed at Korai railway station in Odisha's Jajpur district on Monday morning, with wagons ploughing into waiting passengers, killing at least three persons and injuring four others.
East Coast Railway (ECoR) officials said that the accident occurred at 6.44 am when some people were waiting at the platform and in the waiting hall for a passenger train. The railway authorities said the train derailment inquiry would be conducted at the level of Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) as all the derailed wagons were cleared from both lines. The down-the-line in the Cuttack-Howrah line was declared fit by 9 pm, they said.
Station staffers said that the loco pilot of the empty goods train to move from Dongoaposi (Jharkhand) to Chhatrapur (Odisha) applied sudden brakes, causing eight wagons to derail and plough into the passengers on the platform and the waiting hall.
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Jajpur Additional District Magistrate Akshay Kumar Mallick said that some derailed wagons climbed the foot-over-bridge and fell on the waiting hall and ticket counter.
All four persons received minor injuries and were discharged after being administered first aid, the ECOR said while Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO), Jajpur, Shibashis Maharana said three women have died in the incident, including a mother-daughter duo.
Earlier reports had said seven persons were injured.
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The deceased have been identified as Parbati Bindhani (55), her daughter Kandhei (26), and Abujan alias Absum Bibi (47). A two-and-half-month -old baby boy, who was with the Bindhanis, miraculously survived the accident.
Families of the deceased have demanded Rs 50 lakh as compensation or a permanent job in the Railways for a member.
