14 killed, 100 others injured; wrong signalling seen as reason; PM, JS condole death
At least 14 people were killed and over 100 injured, as two trains collided head-on at Narsingdi railway station yesterday.
Witnesses said the collision between the two–Chittagong-bound intercity train Mahanagar Godhuli and Dhaka-bound local train Chattola–occurred at 4:45pm.
On impact, five coaches of Mahanagar Godhuli leapt onto Chattola. Most of the carriages of the trains went off the tracks and were badly mangled.
Identity of those killed could be known immediately. The injured were rushed to Narsingdi general hospital and Narsingdi sadar hospital.
Of them, loco masters Rafiq Uddin, 35, and Mayeen Uddin, 30, security guard Mohammad Jasim, 30, and passenger Mahbubur Rahman, 26, of Chattola were shifted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital around 8:15pm.
Talking to reporters at DMCH, loco master Rafiq said as his train entered the station on track number-1, he saw another train coming from the opposite direction at full speed.
Alarmed, he and his assistant brought down the speed of Chattola to 10 km an hour from 70. He cannot remember anything after that, added Rafiq.
Railway sources suspect wrong signal might have caused the accident.
Meanwhile, locals said the employees of the station disappeared soon after the accident.
Rail communications between the capital and major cities have remained suspended since the crash.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has expressed deep shock over the accident and directed all concerned to do their best in rescue operation and treatment of the injured.
Military personnel were working with firefighters and locals to haul passengers out of the wreckage and send them to hospitals.
Divisional Rail Manager Habibur Rahman said a relief train with a medical van attached reached the scene to help the rescue efforts at around 9:45pm.
As a huge crowd gathered at the scene, it became difficult for the rescuers to do their job properly. Law enforcers had to charge baton to disperse the onlookers.
Sumon, an eyewitness, said soon after the accident a fire brigade crane was called in, but it failed to lift the heavy coaches.
Parliament last night passed a condolence motion for the ones who have died in the accident.
Leader of the opposition and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia also expressed sorrow over the casualties and demanded proper investigation into the accident.
Bangladesh Railway has formed a four-member committee to probe the accident. Headed by Railway’s Chief Engineer Yusuf Ali Mridha, the committee has been asked to come up with a report within the next 48 hours.
At least 21 people have died so far in three major train accidents this year.
According to the Bangladesh Railway records, 5,050 train accidents were recorded in the country between 2000 and 2009. At least 60 people died in around 1,000 accidents last year alone.
