Dhaka: At least 13 people were killed and more than 100 others injured after two trains collided in Bangladesh on Monday.
The accident took place near Bhairab station in Kishoreganj, about 80 kilometres from Dhaka, when a passenger train collided with a freight train around 4.15 pm, reigniting memories of the Bahanaga Bazar rail disaster in Odisha’s Balasore on June 2. The difference is, on that fateful June day, a passenger train (Chennai-bound Coromandel Express) rammed into a stationary goods train after entering the loop line before another passenger train (Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express) ran into derailed bogies on the other track.
According to Kishoreganj Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Abul Kalam Azad, the death toll is likely to rise. Rescue operations by the fire service and other agencies are ongoing at the accident spot.
News portal bdnews24 reported that 13 bodies have been recovered so far, adding that dozens of people are trapped under the damaged coaches.
“An initial report said that the freight train crashed into the Egarosindhur Express from behind, striking two of the carriages,” informed Anowar Hossain, superintendent of Dhaka Railway Police.
Another report in The Business Standard quoted Bhairab railway police station officer-in-charge Alim Hossain Shikdar as saying that after departing from Bhairab station, the Dhaka-bound Egarosindhur Express had switched tracks to enter a different line.
“Before the entire train could complete its transition to the new line, a container train entered the same track and collided with the rear of the passenger train, causing several compartments to derail,” the officer said.
Movement of trains on Dhaka-Chattogram-Sylhet route have been suspended following the accident.