Staff Reporter with Kulaura Correspondent :
A Dhaka-bound intercity train from Sylhet, Upaban Express, derailed at Baramchal in Moulvibazar’s Kulaura upazila on Sunday night, killing at least seven passengers on the spot and over 200 injured.
Five bogies of the seven bogies train veered off the tracks around 11:40 pm after a culvert over the Barochhara Canal broke down, according to railway and police officials.
Two of the bogies fell into the canal and one of them overturned, while the other three bogies remained tilted.
Eyewitness said, the accident took place on a bridge near Kalamia Bazar, 200 meters away from Baramchal railway station in Kulaura upazila of Moulvibazar district.
The deceased were identified as Monwara Begum, 55, of Shekhertila of Fenchuganj upazila in Sylhet, Sanjida Akhter, 20, of Bhadorkhola village of Mollar Hut upazila in Bagerhat, Fahmida Yasmin Eva, 20, of Abdullahpur village of Dakshin Surma upazila in Sylhet and Kawsar Hossain, 26, of Bahubal upazila in Habiganj.
Among them, Sanjida and Fahmida are trainee nurses of Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital and were on their way to Dhaka for training. Their bodies were handed over to their families.
Of the injured, 67 people took primary treatment at Kulaura Upazila Health Complex while 7 took primary treatment at Moulvibazar District Hospital. Among them, 21 persons were referred to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital.
So far, 18 injured people are undergoing treatment at Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital while another 6 left with primary treatment, Marjan Ahmed, a duty doctor of the emergency unit, said.
A passenger of the ill-fated train Shahed Ahmed, acting principal of Jointapur Imran Ahmad Degree College, said that two coaches of the train derailed and fell into the canal and a compartment turned-turtle.
Moulvibazar Police Super Mohammad Shahajalal told reporters that two platoons of BGB members were engaged in rescue operation.
He said a number of ambulances from government and non-government hospitals of the region carried the injured passengers to hospitals with the help of the district administration and police.
Getting information, 27 members of fire service units, police and locals rushed to the spot and conducted the rescue operation, said Officer-in-Charge of Kulaura Government Railway Police Station Md Abdul Malek.
Kulaura Rail Station in-charge Dulal Chandra Das said the train was overloaded with passengers as the bus services on Dhaka-Sylhet Highway remained halted as a bailey bridge at Shahabajpur in Sarail of Brahmanbaria district collapsed.
He said the injured were taken to Kulaura Health Complex, Moulvibazar Sadar Hospital, Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital and some local hospitals.
The accident disrupted Sylhet’s rail communications with other parts of the country, including capital Dhaka.
Meanwhile, Rail Secretary Mofazzal Hossain has pointed out ‘faulty lines’ and ‘disoriented alignment of coach wheels’ as two likely causes for the disaster.
Railway formed two probe bodies to investigate the matter and these bodies are likely to submit report in three days.
The first committee is a four-member committee headed by Mizanur Rahman, chief mechanical engineer, east zone, of Bangladesh Railway.
The second committee is a four-member divisional probe body headed by Mainul Islam, divisional transport officer of Dhaka division.
Both have been asked to submit report within three working days, the Railway Secretary said.
Seeking anonymity, a railway officials said, “The train was derailed a hundred metre before the bridge and tried to pull brake but dragged into the bridge”.
He said, “A train of the route needs 440 metre space to brake but the space was not enough after derailment and one carriage collapsed in the canal”.
