Odisha: 3 Railways staffers die, 4 hurt as Howrah-Jagdalpur Express hits maintenance tower car

Bhubaneswar, June 25: Three railway employees have lost their lives when the engine of the Howrah-Jagdalpur Samaleswari Express caught fire after hitting a maintenance tower car in Odisha's Rayagada district Tuesday, officials said.

The mishap occurred near the remote Gadabaguda village between Singapur and Keutaguda stations around 4:30 am, a few minutes after the train left Rayagada station.

All three deceased were engaged in the maintenance tower car when the accident took place between Singapur Road and Keutaguda, East Coast Railway (ECoR) spokesperson J P Mishra said.

The engine that caught fire has been detached from the train.

The three Railways employees killed in the mishap were identified as tower car technician Suresh, electrical section engineer Sagar and electrical technician Gauri Naidu. They had suffered severe burn injuries.

The Railways ordered an inquiry by the Commissioner of Railway Safety, Kolkata, Mishra said, adding that the matter has been viewed seriously and the Railway Board sought full details of the accident. The Commissioner of Railway Safety is an independent statutory authority under the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

The station masters on duty at Keutguda and Singapur Road have been placed under suspension, Mishra said. Fire brigade and ambulance were sent to the site and senior officers from Visakhapatnam also rushed in.

Two buses were engaged for transporting the passengers of the train to Jagdalpur and arrangements were made to provide them food, Mishra said. Steps have been taken to get the detached train back to Rayagada, sources said.