Howrah-Mumbai train accident: 'After side collision, goods train dragged derailed wagon for 1km'

POTOBERA/RANCHI: The engine of Howrah-Mumbai Mail suffered a side collision with the 20th wagon of a freight train, Southeastern Railways (SER) general manager Anil Kumar Mishra said, adding the goods train pilot had dragged the derailed wagon for nearly a km, possibly unaware that something was wrong.

"We are trying to find out the circumstances leading to the accident, and whether anyone was aware that the freight train had derailed," the official said.

Om Prakash Charan, the chief public relations officer of SER, said the loco-pilot and the assistant loco-pilot escaped with minor injuries which occurred after the impact of the collision broke the engine's windshield. "The Commission of Railway Safety (CRS) will conduct a detailed investigation," he added. "The exact speed of the train during the time of collision will be ascertained during the investigation," Charan said.

SER officials said the two deceased men, P Bikash Kumar and Ajit Kumar Samal, were residents of Odisha and were supposed to deboard at Rourkela. Kumar was a resident of Railway Colony in Rourkela while Samal lived in Malgodown area of the city. All casualties took place among passengers travelling in AC coaches. Both Kumar and Samal had planned to take a different night train to Rourkela but missed it and ended up boarding the ill-fated Mumbai Mail instead

"They were standing near the toilet area in the three-tier coach B4 when the collision occurred," a senior zonal official said.

Most of the passengers were sleeping and were thrown from their berths, leading to injuries. "There was a collision sound and the coach leaned and then fell. I jumped off the berth to run out," said Saurabh Kumar, a passenger in one of the derailed AC coaches.