Bijoy Express train derails in Cumilla, 20 hurt

A total of eight compartments of the Jamalpur-bound Bijoy Express train from Chattogram were derailed in Cumilla's Nangalkot, injuring around 20 people, on Sunday (17 March).

The incident happened around 1:45pm at Tejer Bazar area of Nangalkot, disrupting rail communications between Chattogram and Dhaka, and all other train services on the route.

Following the incident, a number of trains remained stranded at different nearby stations, while some trains could not depart from their starting stations within the schedules till the filing of this report around 8pm.

Subsequently, commuters on the route had to suffer a lot.

Photo: TBS

Liakat Ali Majumder, deputy assistant engineer (track) of Cumilla Railway, told The Business Standard that they primarily suspected that the derailment was due to bending of rail tracks caused by sudden hot weather.

Meanwhile, a five-member probe body, headed by Chattogram Railway East Division Transport Officer Anisur Rahman, has been formed to look into the incident.

A relief train from Laksham reached the spot to salvage the affected train. Another relief train from Chattogram will join the operation, said sources.

Witnesses said during the derailment, one of the carriages of the Bijoy Express train collapsed on a nearby house, injuring its owner. He has been admitted to Nangalkot upazila health complex.

Laksham railway police station Officer-in-Charge Murad Ullah Bahar said they have conducted a search on the train following the incident, and no one was found dead. 

Nangolkot Upazila Nirbahi Officer Ismail Hossain said four of the injured have been hospitalised. 

However, Railway East General Manager Jahangir Hossain could not be reached over the phone for his comments despite several attempts.