One killed, 22 injured as Amrapali express derails in Bihar

One passenger was killed and 22 others were injured, including one seriously, when an engine and six bogies of the Amrapali Express jumped off the tracks near Pasraha station in Bihar's Khagaria district last night.

The Amritsar-Katihar Express train carrying over 500 passengers derailed at around 11.45 pm yesterday at a place near Pasraha station where a ditch was formed due to water logged alongside the down line, East Central Railway sources said.

Chief public Relations Officer, East Central Railway, Dilip Kumar said Puran Singh (22), a resident of Purnia, died on the spot while 22 others, including a woman, suffered injuries.    

Of the injured, 21 were given first aid on the spot, and the woman, Shanti Devi, who suffered head injuries, was taken to a hospital at Khagaria for surgery, Kumar said.

The district authorities, including the superintendent of police, reached the spot and launched operations to rescue the trapped passengers inside the strayed bogies including five were sleeper coaches, Kumar said.
     
A special train was soon rushed from Barauni to ferry other passengers to Katihar in the wee hours today, he said, adding, all the passengers were pulled out from the bogies.

The Railways provided an ex-gratia of Rs 15,000 to the bereaved family of Puran Singh and Rs 5,000 to the woman, the officials said.

Divisional railway manager, Sonepur Division, RK Agarwal, said two accident relief trains from Sonepur and Katihar each and several railway officials, including AGM (ECR), Hajipur, reached the spot soon after the mishap.
       
Kumar said the Commissioner of Railway Safety (Eastern Circle) under the Civil Aviation Ministry would probe the mishap.

Train services in the Barauni-Katihar section of the ECR were badly affected. While some local trains were cancelled, 16 long-distance trains were diverted through Barauni and Katihar.

Meanwhile, repairing works continued on a war footing to clear up the blocked line due to the derailment, by this evening, he said.

Kumar said five pairs of local trains plying between Katihar and Barauni stations have been cancelled.

Routes of 16 long-distance trains, including Dibrugarh-Guwahati-New Delhi express, North East Express and other important trains have been changed.

The up trains are being diverted to Bhagalpur to Kiul to reach Patna for onward journey to New Delhi, while up trains were being diverted from Kiul to Bhagalpur to Katihar for journey to Northeastern states.
     
Two accident relief trains with cranes were engaged in removing the mangled bogies and fish out the engine half of which lay submerged in the ditch.