
The wreckage of a train after it derailed early yesterday in Akhaura while going to Chittagong from Dhaka. The accident left two people dead. Photo: Star
The deceased were identified as Mostakim, 20, of Mymensingh, and Nurul Amin, 35, of Netrakona.
The accident occurred as a compartment of the Chittagong-bound train overturned after being derailed around 3:00am, just before entering Akhaura station, said Md Saidul Islam, officer-in-charge of Government Railway Police (GRP) at Akhaura Railway Junction.
Passengers inside the compartment were heavily jolted when four wheels of the coach slipped off the track.
Mostakim and Amin died on the spot as they were on the roof of the train, the OC said, adding that at least 40 more passengers had sustained injuries.
The injured were taken to different local hospitals and clinics for treatment.
The cause of the derailment could not be ascertained immediately, said Abdul Motalib, station superintendent of the junction.
A three-member committee headed by Divisional Transport Officer (DTO) of Railway Eastern Zone Md Nazmul Hossain was formed to investigate the cause of the derailment by three days, he added.
The rail communications of Dhaka with Chittagong, Sylhet, Noakhali, and Chandpur remained suspended for more than five hours as seven trains remained stranded at different stations after the incident.
Communications, however, resumed around 8:30am when a salvage train removed the coach from the track.
Chittagong-bound Turna Nishitha Express got stuck in Brahmanbaria Railway Station while Sylhet-bound Sylhet Mail at Talshar station, situated in between Akhaura and Brahmanbaria; Sylhet-bound another train Surma Mail at Brahmanbaria, and Akhaura-bound Titas at Paghachang, a place in between Brahmanbaria and Akhaura.
Dhaka-bound Turna Nishitha Express from Chittagong got stranded at Koshba, Chittagong Mail train at Akhaura, and a Demu train at a place between Comilla and Akhaura railway stations.
Two youths killed in train accidents
Two youths were killed in two separate train accidents in Jamalpur, reports our district correspondent.
The deceased were identified as Omar Ali, 22, of son of Gyan Miah of Langaljora village in Jamalpur, and Billal Hossain, 16, son of Shakawat Hossain of Durgapur upazila in Netrakona.
Omar, who had hearing impairment, was run over by a Dhaka-bound commuter train from Dewanganj while he was crossing Langaljora level crossing around 5:35am yesterday, said Khokan Sarker, officer-in-charge of the GRP at Jamalpur Railway Station.
In a separate incident, Billal fell down from a Dewanganj-bound commuter train from Dhaka near the Nandina Railway Station around 9:30pm on Wednesday as he was standing by the door of the compartment, the OC said.
Critically injured Billal was taken to Jamalpur General Hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries there around 2:30am yesterday, the OC added.
Police recovered the bodies and sent those to Jamalpur General Hospital morgue for autopsies.


You need to be a member of Earth Changes and the Pole Shift to add comments!
Join Earth Changes and the Pole Shift