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50 hurt as 2 trains collide

Dinajpur's rail link with Dhaka, Rajshahi snapped for 6hrs

OUR CORRESPONDENT, Dinajpur
At least 50 passengers were injured when two intercity trains collided head-on at Phulbari Railway Station here early yesterday, suspending rail communications between the capital and Dinajpur, Rajshahi for about six and a half hours.
Witnesses said the driver of the Dinajpur-bound Ekota Express from Dhaka mistakenly drove on line-1 of the station at 3:40am. The train crashed into the Khulna-bound Simanta Express, which had been waiting there since 3:14am to allow the passage of Ekota Express.
Locals whisked 22 injured to Phulbari Upazila Health Complex. Of them, Md Amzan Hossain, 55, Abdul Mannan, 35, Monoara Begum, 70, and Md Razu Mia, 15, were later transferred to Dinajpur Medical College Hospital as their condition deteriorated.
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Immediately after the accident, stationmaster Md Abdul Hamid and other railway staff fled the scene.
One coach of Simanta Express and three of Ekota Express were badly damaged in the collision. Fire service men cut a damaged compartment and rescued two injured passengers.
Around 1,000 passengers got stranded at the station as there was no alternative means of transport due to a countrywide shutdown.
Rail communications on the route was restored around 10:00am.
A relief train started the salvage operation
around 8:30am and continued till 11:00pm.
Talking to this correspondent, Simanta Express passenger Sabed Ali said, "I was asleep at the time of the accident. I woke up to a big sound and came out of my coach to find the coach next to mine got damaged."
Railway authorities suspended station-master Md Abdul 11 am id, Ekota Express driver Abdul Karim, assistant driver Shariful Islam and guard Md Azizar Rahman for negligence of duty.
Local resident Md Mizanur Rahman said two such incidents occurred in the area in the last six months, with two trains travelling on
the same track. Stationmaster Abdul Hamid was suspended (Aug 20 - Sept 20) for negligence of duties.
Three investigation committees, two by the railway authorities and one by the Dinajpur deputy commissioner, have been formed to probe yesterday's accident.
Simanta Express was supposed to cross the Phulbari Railway Station at 8:05pm on Monday, while the Ekota Express was scheduled to reach the station at 5:00pm on the same day. But both the trains were running behind their schedules due to the hartal.