7 laborers died after being hit by goods train
New Delhi. At least 7 laborers were killed and 1 other seriously injured when a goods train ran over them at Odisha’s Jajpur Keonjhar Road railway station on Wednesday. When the goods train started rolling, the workers took shelter under the goods train to avoid heavy rain.
In a statement, the East Coast Railway said, “Contract workers employed by a contractor for railway work took shelter under a goods train near Jajpur Keonjhar Road (station) to seek protection from a sudden thunderstorm.” The reserve rake without engine started rolling due to the wind which led to the accident. The injured have been admitted to the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. The incident comes five days after the tragic triple train accident in Odisha’s Balasore district in which 288 people were killed and over 1,000 others were injured.
Braving the scorching heat, people armed with their mobile cameras reached the accident site to see the mangled remains of the trains involved in the accident. Though the railway authorities cordoned off the area with green cloth, coaches strewn on the sides of the tracks can now be easily seen. The Coromandel Express was diverted on the loop line before hitting a stationary goods train on Friday night.
The collision caused the coaches of the Coromandel Express to overturn onto another track. The derailed coaches collided with the rear coaches of another train, the Bengaluru to Howrah Superfast Express, which was traveling in the opposite direction. While trains resumed operations late on Sunday night from the accident site, Wednesday’s journey is the first service of the Coromandel Express to resume the route.
