Three rear coaches of the stopped Kanchanjunga Express, which was headed towards Sealdah, collapsed on Monday morning when it collided with a goods train in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal, resulting in at least 15 fatalities and 60 injuries, according to officials.
The death toll might increase because locals and several state and federal agencies were collaborating to rescue any passengers who might still be inside, they said.
According to a senior railway official, among the dead were the goods train’s pilot and co-pilot.
According to police, the injured are being transported to the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital.
The official stated that the three rear compartments collapsed due to the force of the locomotive of the goods train colliding from behind near Rangapani station, which is approximately 30 km away from the New Jalpaiguri station in North Bengal.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his sadness over the West Bengal railway accident in a post on X. To those who have lost loved ones, my condolences.
“I hope the wounded get better as soon as possible. spoke with representatives and assessed the circumstances. In order to help those affected, rescue operations are in progress. He added, “The Railways Minister Shri @AshwiniVaishnaw Ji is also en route to the accident scene.
The prime minister also declared that the next of kin of each deceased person would receive an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh, and the injured would receive Rs 50,000.
In the meantime, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw travelled to West Bengal on Monday to assess the state of relief efforts in the wake of the train disaster.
