Bengal: Engine Of Radhikapur Express Derails After Hitting Truck, Catches Fire

Radhikapur Express Crash: The engine was detached and the fire was brought under control within an hour.

The Radhikapur Express collision took place between Dhulianganga and Ballalpur in Bengal.

Source : ANI/screengrab

The engine of Radhikapur Express caught fire after it derailed in West Bengal's Farakka on Monday after the train collided with a truck, ANI reported. The engine was detached and the fire was extinguished. The incident took place between Dhulianganga and Ballalpur in Bengal.

While there were no casualties due to the collision, around 15 passengers were injured in the incident. The fire was brought under control within an hour by the fire brigade.

#WATCH | Farakka, West Bengal: Radhikapur Express collided with a truck. The train derailed between Dhulianganga and Ballalpur at 0124 hrs. The engine derailed and caught fire. It was detached immediately, and the fire was extinguished. No causality was reported. pic.twitter.com/hTgQKDA2Kd

— ANI (@ANI) December 4, 2023

A spokesperson of Eastern Railways said a truck laden with sand came in front of the train, as per a report in Hindustan Times.

"The incident took place around 1.25 am when a lorry rammed into a level crossing gate between Dhulianganga and Ballalpur in Murshidabad and came in front of the train. Four wheels of the engine got derailed and the engine caught fire," the spokesperson said.

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The train departed from Kolkata on Sunday evening and was heading towards Radhikapur in Uttar Dinajpur district in north Bengal when the accident happened. "A special train was arranged to transport the stranded passengers to Radhikapur," the spokesperson further said.

Following the derailment, a few trains along the route had to be cancelled or diverted. However, train services have been restored now.

The severity of the accident could have been higher had the loco-pilot of the train not applied emergency brakes on time, sources told IANS. The truck was severely damaged due to impact of the crash.