A wheel of the last carriage of the Midnapore-Howrah local train derailed at Kharagpur yard in West Bengal on Saturday. According to an ANI report, no major accident took place as the train was running at a low speed and there were no casualties reported due to the incident. An official told the news agency that re-railment was done after railway officials reached the spot and the passengers were safely taken out. The exact cause of the accident is yet to be ascertained.
According to The Times of India, the train derailed around 10:15 pm, when the wheel derailed and came off tracks, a South-Eastern Railway official said.
The accident disrupted the services of the route for around 30 minutes, as per a PTI report. Services resumed in the section after the coach, fifth from the engine, was lifted onto the line, officials said.
The accident happened around 140 km from Bahanagar Bazar railway station, where a triple-train crash on June 2 killed 288 people.
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While the wheel was fixed quickly, the incident came as a haunting reminder of the crash when the Coromandel Express collided with a stationary goods train, resulting in the derailment of several coaches. During the incident, a few coaches of the Coromandel Express toppled over the rear coaches of the Bengaluru-Howrah Express, which happened to be passing by simultaneously.
Investigations are underway to determine the factors contributing to the crash, including potential human error, signal failure, and other possible causes.
The train crash, the fourth deadliest in India according to available records, happened near the Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore district, about 250 km south of Kolkata and 170 km north of Bhubaneswar.