Staff Reporter :At least six people were killed and 25 others injured as a cargo lorry ran into a compartment of a running passenger train defying signal at Inland Container Terminal (ICD) at Kamalapur Railway Station in Dhaka on Monday.Of the deceased, three were identified as Majibur Rahman, 60, of Mirpur in the capital, Alamgir Hossain, 45, and Nayem while identities of the three others could not be known immediately.Thirteen of the injured were admitted to DMCH. Among the injured, four others succumbed to their injuries at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).”A covered van of NS Cargo Ltd hit a compartment of a passenger train defying signal around 1:00pm in the area, leaving six people dead and 25 others injured,” Nazmul Islam, Transportation Officer of Bangladesh Railway, Dhaka Division, told The New Nation.Two died on the spot while the four others succumbed to their injuries at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), he added. “I signalled the lorry when the train was entering the station from Narayanganj but it kept on moving forward and crashed on the train,” said Abdul Mazid, an on-duty Ansar member. He said, it appears that the driver of the lorry lost control and hit the running train with speed. Bodies of the five dead victims were kept at the DMCH morgue, said Inspector Mozammel Haque, in-charge at the Hospital police outpost.The death toll may rise as some of the injured are in critical condition, he added.Nine units of Fire Service were conducting the salvage operation. Meanwhile, the railway authorities filed a case against the driver of the freight lorry for reckless driving, losing of lives and damaging government property. Senior deputy assistant engineer of the BR Abdul Matin Mondol filed the case with Kamalapur GRP at about 4pm.Visiting the spot, Railway Minister Mujibul Haque apologised for the accident.”We are sorry,” he told reporters while briefing media after visiting the spot.”Accident is accident. We do not desire to witness this type of incidents. This incident was unwanted, unfortunate and tragic,” he said adding that the government will arrange treatment for the injured. Rail communication between Dhaka and Narayanganj was remaining suspended till 2:50pm when this report was filed. “We hope the rail communication will resume soon,” Divisional Railway Transportation Officer Nazmul Islam said. The railway authorities formed a three-member committee to investigate the incident.Headed by Nazmul Islam, the committee has been asked to submit its report within three days.
