North East Express Train Derails In Bihar
North East Express train derails in Bihar, leaving four dead and 80 injured; rescue and investigations underway.
At least four people were killed and around 80 others injured after the North East Express train derailed in Bihar on Wednesday. The train, which started from Anand Vihar Terminus in Delhi, was on its way to Kamakhya near Guwahati in Assam. An official said that the incident took place close to Raghunathpur station near Buxar around 9.35 pm. A local resident, Hari Pathak, said, "The train was coming at a normal speed but suddenly we heard a loud sound and a plume of smoke rose out of the train. We rushed to see what happened. We saw that the train had derailed and the AC coaches were the most damaged.” At least two AC 3 Tier coaches had toppled over while four other coaches jumped the tracks. At least 21 trains operating on the route have been diverted. National and state disaster response forces have reached the incident site. Injured people were taken to AIIMS, Patna. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said evacuation and rescue operations were completed. He extended his condolences to those who died and said the government "will find the root cause of the derailment". Officials were focusing on the restoration of the affected line and a train to ferry the stranded passengers to Guwahati had arrived. Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav said that he has spoken to the Disaster Management Department, Health Department, and the district officials of Buxar and Bhojpur to speed up the relief and rescue work. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's office also said that they are "closely monitoring the unfortunate derailment" of the train in Raghunathpur. They added that they are in touch with the district authorities in Buxar and other agencies.
