Two friends from Rourkela killed in train mishap

ROURKELA: Two friends from Rourkela, both in their mid-thirties, met with a tragic end just 45 minutes after they boarded the Howrah-CSMT Mumbai Mail which derailed near Barabambo station in Chakradharpur division of neighbouring Jharkhand, in the wee hours of Tuesday.

Eight other passengers escaped with minor injuries in the mishap.

Thirty-seven-year-old Ajit Kumar Samal of Malgodam area and his friend P Bikash Rao (35) of Railway Colony had boarded the ill-fated train at Tatanagar and were en route to Rourkela when at around 3.45 am, it hit the wagons of a goods train that had derailed and landed on the Up track. Of the 18 coaches that derailed, one was a power coach and the other was a pantry car.

Chief public relation officer of South Eastern Railway (SER) Omprakash Charan said the deceased were travelling in the B-4 coach of the train. The other eight injured persons survived with minor injuries, he said.

Family members of the deceased were inconsolable after getting information of their deaths. Ajit’s mother Sanju said her son worked as a supervisor for a contract firm. He is survived by his wife and two minor children.

“Ajit left home on Monday for some work in Tatanagar and said he would return by night. However, he called in the afternoon saying he had some more work left and would hence return by Tuesday morning. We did not know this was his last journey,” said the wailing mother. Similar scenes of grief prevailed in the family of Bikash.

“The goods train was on Down track when it got derailed and infringed the Up track. Just then the approaching Howrah-Mumbai Mail hit the goods train leading to derailment of 18 coaches,” Charan said adding, track restoration process is underway on war-footing.

Shortly after the mishap, relief and rescue operation was started by the Chakradharpur Division of SER. Compensation of Rs 10 lakh each to the kin of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh each to the injured has been announced. The SER has also instituted an inquiry to ascertain the reason and circumstances that led to derailment of the goods train.

Meanwhile, SER announced cancellation of prominent passenger trains along 32 Up and Down tracks on the Howrah-Mumbai main line. It further informed that 30 Up and Down trains on the route would remain cancelled on Wednesday.