Kanchanjungha Express train collision with the Goods train on 17: 9 dead, over 40 injured.

Tragic Collision: Kanchanjungha Express Crashes into Goods Train, Resulting in 9 Fatalities and Injuring Over 40

Written by: Supriya Kadu

Edited by: Omkar Devadkar

Last Updated: June 18, 2024

Summary: A goods train rammed into the Kanchanjungha Express from behind in Bengal on the morning of June 17, resulting in nine deaths and several injuries.

On June 17, early in the morning, three rear coaches of the stationary Kanchanjunga Express headed for Sealdah derailed after a goods train collided with it in the Darjeeling region of West Bengal. The incident resulted in nine casualties, including seven passengers, two railway workers, and 41 wounded.

The Railway Ministry said in a statement that 32 people had mild or uncomplicated injuries and nine people had severe injuries. The injured have been moved to North Bengal Medical College and Hospital for medical attention.

About thirty kilometers from the New Jalpaiguri station in North Bengal, the goods train's locomotive collided from behind, causing the three rear compartments to collapse.

Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw visited the site and stated that the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) had initiated an investigation into the cause of the disaster. According to Mr. Vaishnaw's post on X, ₹10 lakh will be handed to the deceased's next of relatives, ₹2.5 lakh to the grievously injured, and ₹50,000 to those with slight injuries.

A passenger on the express said, "Many passengers tried to call or attempt to contact railway authorities, but there was no response for some time. They initially answered the phone but then stopped answering or stated that they had no information about the incident at hand. The local people evacuated passengers from the damaged compartments," he claimed.

According to the passenger, local police arrived at the scene between 9:20 and 9:30 a.m. The Railway Police Force then performed the more challenging rescue work, cutting open damaged railway compartments to free trapped individuals, he stated.