Bhairab train accident: 3 damaged coaches removed, communication resumed fully after 14 hours
The accident that killed 17 and injured more than a hundred passengers occurred when Egarosindhur Express collided with a freight train at Bhairab station around 4pm on Monday
Three bogies that were crushed and derailed in the Bhairab train accident have been removed from the site and train communication returned to normal after almost 14 hours.
The accident that killed 17 and injured more than a hundred passengers occurred when Egarosindhur Express collided with a freight train at Bhairab station around 4pm on Monday (23 October).
All three damaged coaches were removed from the railway track, and train services were fully restored around 5:30am on Tuesday (24 October), Kishoreganj Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Abul Kalam Azad told The Business Standard.
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However, there was a huge crowd at the accident site on Tuesday morning as the belongings of the injured passengers were scattered on the spot.
On Monday afternoon, the Dhaka-bound Egarosindhu Express train departed from Bhairab station around 4pm. The train was switching tracks from the station's outer line to another line.
"Before the entire train could complete its transition to the other line, another container train entered the same line and collided with the rear half of the passenger train, causing several compartments to derail," said Alim Hossain Shikdar, officer-in-charge of Bhairab railway police station.
Rail communication on the Dhaka-Chattogram-Sylhet route remained suspended for about six hours following the accident and resumed on one tract around 10:30pm after a rescue train cleared the line.
Following a preliminary investigation, Bangladesh Railway said the collision of the passenger train and the freight train in Bhairab happened as the latter did not obey the rail signal.
Meanwhile, Kishoreganj Deputy Commissioner Abul Kalam Azad said two committees have been formed to investigate the incident, and they will submit their reports within three working days.
"It appears that the accident occurred due to a problem at the railway crossing," he said.
