Morning Tragedy On Odisha Tracks: LTT Express Derails Near Cuttack

Cuttack: As many as 20 passengers were injured, five of them critically, after the Mumbai-Bhubaneswar Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) Express derailed near Salagaon in Cuttack district on Thursday morning. However, there were no reports of casualties.

According to reports, the incident took place around 7 am when eight coaches of the super-fast express derailed after hitting a guard van of a goods train between Salagaon and Nirgundi.

Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of East Coast Railway (ECoR), Jyoti Prakash Mishra said 20 passengers were injured in the derailment. Of them, 12 passengers, including two women and a child, were shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack.

“However, there has been no casualty in the mishap. Of the 12 passengers, the condition of five passengers is stated to be critical. The five seriously injured passengers have been identified as Jitendra Padhi, Purna Chandra Nayak, Sarat Chandra Behera, Pushpanjali Jatwar and Ashwini Kumar Lenka,” he added.

Meanwhile, 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 detailed information about the incident and the injured passengers.

Stating that two Fire Brigade units and ambulances have begun rescue operations, Mishra said arrangements have been made to send 400 passengers to Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.

Mishra said that the preliminary investigation has revealed that the incident might have taken place due to dense fog.

Asked about probable negligence of the loco driver in crossing the railway signal, he said that the Railways have the automatic signalling system in which two trains can halt on the same track. “The Railways will conduct a high-level probe to ascertain the exact cause of the mishap,” he pointed out.