At least 20 people were killed, and scores wounded after a passenger train collided with a goods train outside the capital Dhaka in Kishoreganj district on Monday. The death count is expected to increase further, reported Dhaka Tribune.
As per reports, witnesses said that several people were trapped under the train while wounded individuals were lying beneath the damaged coaches. Fire personnel services have arrived on the site and initiated a rescue operation.
"Twenty bodies have been recovered so far. We are extending our all possible support to the rescue operations," an official of the elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion told reporters.
Fire service officials on the spot said three passenger carriages were upturned and feared many people were trapped under the dilapidated wagons though some 100 passengers were rescued with wounds and rushed to different health facilities.
Two rear coaches of the Egarosindhur Godhuli train were damaged. "The incident took place around 3.30 pm. The death toll is expected to rise further. Rail connectivity from Dhaka to Chittagong, Sylhet and Kishoreganj is suspended," said Bhairab Station Master Yusuf. The cause of the accident is not clear yet.
Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence media chief Shahjahan Sikder said that over a dozen units of the fire service are conducting rescue operations.
"An initial report said that the freight train crashed into the Egaro Sindur from behind, striking two of the carriages,” Anowar Hossain, superintendent of Dhaka Railway Police, was quoted by Bangladesh media.
Nazmul Islam, acting general manager (east) of Bangladesh Railway, said that the container train had disregarded a signal and rammed into the last three carriages of the passenger train, the Daily Star newspaper reported.
The locomaster, assistant locomaster, and a guard of the freight train have been suspended. Bangladesh Railway Director General Quamrul Ahsan said that they have taken the steps following the preliminary investigation.
Rail communication with Dhaka and Chittagong, Sylhet and Kishoreganj has been restored after four hours of disruption. Three separate committees have been formed to investigate the deadly train accident.
(with agencies input)
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