Rescue starts 5 hours after train derails in Cumilla

Rescue operations have started five hours after a train derailed at Nagalkot upazila in Cumilla, severing railway connectivity between Chattogram and the rest of Bangladesh, on Sunday, news agencies report.

Officer-in-Charge Murad Ullah Bahar of Laksham Railway Police Station said around 6:45 in the evening that two rescue trains from Chittagong and Akhaura just started their work.

“First, efforts will be made to clear one line so that train service on the Dhaka-Chattogram route can resume. However, it is too early to say how long this will take," he said.

At 1:35 pm, nine carriages of Bijoy Express derailed near Hasanpur Railway Station in the Tejer Bazar area, leaving at least 30 people injured.

It was initially found that the accident occurred due to the breaking of a lock on the train’s engine, according to Nangalkot Railway Station Master Jamal Hossain.

He mentioned that at 1:35pm, a loud noise was heard as the carriages derailed in the Tejer Bazar area of Dhaliua Union, close to Hasanpur Railway Station.

After the derailment, the carriages spread across both tracks of the Dhaka-Chittagong railway, halting train movement between Chittagong and the rest of the country, according to him.

Police said that locals began rescuing passengers immediately after the accident.

Many passengers received primary aid locally and left by road. So far, there had been no reports of fatalities due to the incident, they added.

Five-member probe body formed

A five-member committee has been formed to investigate the derailment of nine bogies of the train.

Anisur Rahman, Chattogram Railway East division transport officer, was made the chief of the committee, which is to submit the report within three days.