As many as 20 passengers were injured after at least eight coaches of the Mumbai-Bhubaneswar Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) Express following its collision with the guard van of a goods train near Nergundi railway station in Odisha’s Cuttack on Thursday morning.
The accident is learnt to have taken place due to low visibility because of dense fog.
Eight coaches of the Lokmanya Tilak Express derailed between Salagaon and Nergundi around 7 am. There were around 400-450 passengers were on board the train.
Out of the 20 injured, five were seriously injured and they have been admitted to the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack, said Chief Public Relations Officer of East Coast Railway (ECoR), JP Mishra.
However, no casualty has been reported till now.
The ECoR has issued helpline numbers 0671-1072 (Cuttack), 0674-1072 (Khurda Road), 18003457401/402 (Bhubaneswar headquarters), 0674-1072 (Bhubaneswar station) and 06752-1072 (Puri) for information on the accident and injured passengers.
Buses were arranged for all remaining passengers to move to their destination. Cuttack is 10-12 km and Bhubaneswar the terminating station is 35 km away.
Following the accident, the traffic on the route was hampered as five trains were diverted. Restoration work of rail traffic has started.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan expressed his sadness over the accident but said that he is relieved that no life has been lost in the incident.
The minister further said that rescue operations underway and all efforts are being made to ensure the safety of the passengers.
Pained to learn about the accident of Mumbai-Bhubaneswar LTT Express in Cuttack. Relieved that no lives have been lost in the mishap. Rescue operations are underway and all efforts are being made to ensure the safety of passengers. Pray for the early recovery of those injured.
— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) January 16, 2020