Guwahati, Nov 11: Four persons suffered minor injuries after five coaches and the engine of the Kolkata-Sairang Express derailed at Digaru near Assam’s Guwahati on Wednesday, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
Sarma, in a social media post, said that all the passengers were safe.
”Four sustained minor injuries and are receiving care. We’re working closely with @RailMinIndia on this situation,” he said.
”All stranded passengers have been provided with basic necessities, and alternative travel train has been arranged for the journey,” the CM said.
The four injured have been taken to the Sonapur Primary Health Centre.
A Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) spokesperson had earlier said there were no immediate reports of any fatalities or injuries.
”All passengers are safe and no injuries to anyone,” he had said in a statement.
The accident occurred when the Kolkata-Sairang Express was entering the Digaru railway station in Kamrup (Metropolitan) district, and the loco pilot gave precedence to another train, but could not control the speed, he said.
”This resulted in an unfortunate incident of derailment, in which the locomotive along with 5 coaches derailed,” the spokesperson said.
The train jumped tracks around 6.54 am, another official said.
Eyewitnesses, however, claimed that several people were injured.
The spokesperson said that passengers are being taken to their destinations on an alternative train.
A recovery train has also been rushed to the spot for rescue operations and clearing the tracks, he said.
Following the incident, the movement of the Janshatabdi Express from Guwahati to Jorhat, and the Coimbatore-Silchar Express, has been controlled at Panbari and Panikhaiti, respectively, he said. (PTI)
