8 killed, 17 hurt as train hits cargo rake in Chhattisgarh

RAIPUR: A local train connecting coal township Gevra with Bilaspur junction in Chhattisgarh rear-ended a stationary cargo rake around 4pm on Tuesday after what preliminary reports suggested was a signal breach, killing eight passengers and injuring at least 17 in a crush of metal as the engine and a coach climbed the roof of the last wagon.

The collision involving the MEMU Local - short for mainline electric multiple unit -and the freight train was the sixth fatal railway accident this year, excluding level-crossing deaths. The accident site near Gatora-Lalkhadan is around 170km from capital city Raipur. Initial eyewitness accounts suggested several passengers were trapped in the wreckage for quite some time before rescue teams reached them.




South East Central Railway issued a statement indicating that the loco pilot missed an automated signal. "Signal passed at danger (SPAD) by the MEMU train seems to be the reason (for the crash), based on a preliminary assessment by railway authorities," it said. The statement said the Commissioner of Railway Safety would conduct a detailed inquiry to find out the cause.

Railways to conduct a detailed inquiry, take corrective actions

The Commissioner of Railway Safety would conduct a detailed inquiry and recommend necessary corrective actions. A relief train and a medical team were immediately dispatched from Bilaspur to the accident site, the railway division said.

The railways announced Rs 10 lakh in ex gratia to the families of each of the deceased, none of whom had been identified till late in the night. Critically injured passengers will receive Rs 5 lakh and those with minor injuries Rs 1 lakh each.

"The injured are being treated at the state-run Chhattisgarh Institute of Medical Sciences and private hospitals," Bilaspur district collector Sanjay Agrawal said.

CM Vishnu Deo Sai condoled the deaths in a post on X, saying the state govt would do whatever was required for those affected. "Teams from the railways and the administration are engaged in relief and rescue operations.

All necessary resources and medical assistance are being ensured for the treatment of the injured," he wrote. Several helplines are operational - 7777857335, 7869953330, 8085956528, 9752485600 , 8294730162 and 7869953330 - to provide updates on the accident, officials said.

Since Jan, there have been 28 confirmed deaths in accidents involving trains in Maharashtra's Jalgaon and Mumbra, Cuttack in Odisha, Barhait in Jharkhand, Bihar's Semapur, and Chhattisgarh. tnn
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