Days after Balasore train accident, six laborers run over by goods train in Odisha’s Jajpur

New Delhi: At least six laborers were killed and two others were seriously injured when a goods train ran over them in the state’s Jajpur district on Wednesday, days after a major accident involving three trains in Odisha’s Balasore district. At Jajpur Keonjhar Road railway station, laborers took shelter from heavy rains when the goods train rolled down.

“Suddenly a gale struck. The laborers were working on a railway siding where a goods train was standing. They took shelter under it, but unfortunately, the goods train which had no engine started moving forward, causing the accident.” Quoting news agency PTI, a railway spokesperson has said this.

“Contract labor employed by a contractor for railway work took shelter under stationary rakes to seek protection from the nor’wester wind and rain near Jajpur Keonjar Road (station),” the East Coast Railway said in a statement.

The reserve rake without engine started rolling due to the wind which led to the accident.

The injured have been admitted to the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed deep grief over the unfortunate incident and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased persons. He also directed the concerned officials to provide quality treatment to the injured workers and wished them a speedy recovery.

The incident took place five days after a major accident involving three trains in Odisha’s Balasore district, in which 288 people were killed and over 1,100 were injured. The accident occurred when the Coromandel Express collided with a stationary goods train, derailing most of its coaches around 7 pm on 2 June. Some coaches of the Coromandel fell on the last few coaches of the Bengaluru-Howrah Express at the same time.

Investigators are probing possible human error, signal failure and other possible causes behind the three train derailments.