By Meryl Sebastian, BBC News, Kochi
Dramatic visuals from the accident site showed one wagon of the express train suspended in the air. Authorities say “human error” may have led to the crash and a detailed investigation will be held. Officials said ambulances and disaster teams were sent to the site for rescue efforts soon after the accident at 08:55 local time (03:25 GMT).
State Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed shock at the accident and said action was being taken on “war footing”. The dead include the driver and the assistant driver of the goods train and the guard of Kanchenjungha Express. “Rescue operations have been completed,” Jaya Varma Sinha, CEO of the Railway Board, told a press conference.
The injured, she said, were being treated at a medical college in Siliguri city. “Our first priority is for them to get the best medical aid possible.”Railway official Sabyasachi De told reporters that “the preliminary information we have is that the Kanchenjungha Express was hit from the rear by a goods train”. He added that the reason for the crash would only be confirmed after investigation.
Ms Sinha said human error seemed to be the likely cause of the accident. “As per initial investigation, it seems that the driver of the goods train disregarded the signal.”
She added that Kavach, an automatic train protection system developed by the Indian Railways, needed to be planned and expanded for West Bengal state.
A wagon of the Kanchenjungha Express was suspended in the air after a goods train rammed into it
He said relief efforts were also slowed by heavy rain in the area. Federal Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said relief teams had worked in close coordination with railway officials to carry out rescue operations.
The minister said he was travelling to the accident site. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the incident “saddening” and said he had spoken to officials about the rescue efforts.
“Condolences to those who lost their loved ones. I pray that the injured recover at the earliest,” he wrote on X. He announced a compensation of 200,000 rupees ($2,394, £1,890) for the families of the dead and 50,000 rupees for each of the injured passengers.
The railways have set up a control desk with a helpline number at Rangapani station, near which the collision took place. Last year, a devastating crash involving three trains in the eastern state of Odisha had killed around 290 people and left more than 1,000 injured.India
