At least one person was killed while eight others were injured after 11 coaches of the Bangalore-Kamakhya AC Express derailed near the Cuttack-Nergundi Railway Section of the Khurda Road Division of the East Coast Railway on Sunday.

The deceased has reportedly been identified as Suvankar Roy (22), a resident of Netaji Road-Madhyapara in Alipurduar, West Bengal.

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The train accident reportedly took place at around 11:54 a.m. on Sunday.

District Magistrate Dattatraya Bhausaheb Shinde said that officials have begun an inquiry into the incident.

“One person has died in the incident… 8 people injured needed a referral and have been shifted…An inquiry is being done into the incident,” he told reporters.

Upon receiving the information about the accident, the officials of East Coast Railway (ECoR), Cuttack District collector, fire services personnel and local police officials rushed to the spot and engaged in rescue and restoration work.

Speaking on the tragic accident, the Chief Public Relations Officer of ECoR, Ashok Kumar Mishra said, “Today, at around 11.54 a.m., we got the information that on the Kamakhya-bound Bangalore-Kamakhya (12551) superfast AC Express has derailed in Nirgundi-Kandarpur section near Nirgundi in Cuttack. As per the protocol, the Accident Relief Trains (ARTs) and Accident Relief Medical Vans (ARMVs) from the Khurda Road division were immediately sent to the site.”

The ECoR CPRO also said the central and state government agencies working in emergency response were also informed immediately.

“Our main priority currently is to make arrangements to ensure the passengers stranded there reach their destination railway stations. The emergency control room has opened to ensure they reach their destinations soon,” added Mishra.

He also said that adequate manpower has been mobilised for restoration work to bring normalcy to the route at the earliest.

A Special Train is being arranged to send stranded passengers of the affected train to their destination.

He, however, said that the causes behind the derailment can only be revealed after an initial investigation into the mishap.

Following the derailment, several trains, including 12822 Dhauli Express (BRAG), 12875 Neelachal Express (BBS), and 22606 Purulia SF Express (RTN), have been diverted.

The Railways also released helpline numbers: Bhubaneswar – 8114382371, Bhadrak -9437443469, Cuttack – 7205149591, Palasa – 9237105480, Jajpur Keonjhar Road – 9124639558.