Date:11/12/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/12/11/stories/2007121156051300.htm

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Brahmaputra Mail derails

Staff Reporter

One killed, 66 people injured in accident near New Jalpaiguri

— Photo: PTI

OFF TRACK: Rescue operation is on at the accident site in West Bengal on Monday.

Kolkata: One person was killed and several injured when 14 coaches of the New Delhi-bound Brahmaputra Mail from Dibrugarh in Assam derailed on Sunday night, about 13 km from New Jalpaiguri station in West Bengal.

Sixty-six people were injured, said Trikal Rabha, spokesperson, Northeast Frontier Railways. Six seriously injured persons were being treated at the New Jalpaiguri Railway Hospital and the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital.

The accident occurred around 10.55 p.m. when the train was at a level crossing between Rangapani and Nichbari stations. Of the 14 coaches, eight turned upside down.

The deceased was identified as Md. Imroz, a worker with the pantry car. The other passengers were evacuated and taken to Katihar in Bihar, from where they left for New Delhi via two special trains on Monday morning.

The movement of trains came to a halt in the section for around 11 hours from 11 p.m. on Sunday to around 10 a.m. on Monday, when the up line was cleared and services resumed.

A technical team will probe into the incident once the coaches were removed from the tracks, Mr. Rabha said. Trains to and from Assam were getting delayed.