look news india
Kolkata, New Delhi: Nine people were killed and 41 injured in a railway accident in Darjeeling district of West Bengal. A senior railway official said that the accident occurred when the Kanchenjunga Express collided with a freight train from behind. He said that the deceased included the driver of the freight train and a guard of the Kanchenjunga Express.
The injured have been admitted to North Bengal Medical College and Hospital. According to senior police officials of West Bengal, the death toll is 15. The accident took place near Rangapani station. This station is located 30 km away from New Jalpaiguri station. The official said that due to the accident, four coaches of Kanchenjunga Express overturned.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed grief over the accident. He said that he expresses his condolences to the families of the deceased on this incident. His compassion is with them. He also prays for the speedy recovery of the injured. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav reached the spot by bike due to the narrow road at some places. He reviewed the relief work and announced compensation to the families of the deceased and the injured.
A compensation of Rs 10 lakh was announced for the family of the deceased, Rs 2.5 lakh for the injured and Rs 50,000 for the general injured. Vaishnav said that the Railway Safety Commissioner has started investigating the causes of the accident. He said that steps will be taken to prevent recurrence of such incidents.
Railway Board Chairperson Jaya Verma Sinha told reporters that the freight train failed to obey the signals and collided with the Kanchenjunga Express. The train was going from Agartala to Sealdah. According to preliminary information received from railway officials, the freight train hit the passenger train from behind while it was standing on the track. Internal documents show that the freight train was allowed to cross all the red signals as the automatic signal system had failed.