GUWAHATI: At least 100 passengers were injured, 20 of them seriously, after six coaches and the engine of the Guwahati-Puri Express derailed following a blast near Rangia in Assam’s Kamrup (rural) district on Sunday, the third rail accident in less than a week.“The train left Guwahati railway station at 5.40 pm and the explosion took placeat Dhatkuchi between Rangia and Ghagrapar, about 30 km from here,” Railway officials said.The engine and two bogies jumped the tracks while another four coaches rolleddown into a ditch having three feet water in the remote area at around 8.30 pm. Locals and train passengers claimed that they heard a loud sound before the accident. The injured included a number of women and children. Two helpline numbershave been started in Guwahati (0361-2737154/5) to provide information aboutthe rescue services.The chief safety officer of North East Frontier Railway has rushed to the spot along with other senior officials, including the divisional railway manager from Rangia.An accident relief medical emergency van has also been sent to the spot.“To maintain normal plying of trains on the route, trains are being diverted through Goalpara section,” Railway officials said. Earlier in the day, 15 bogies of the Delhi-bound Kalka Mail derailed near Malwastation, about 120 km from Lucknow, leaving 40 dead and over 200 injured.On July 7, the Mathura-Chhapra Express had crashed into a bus carrying amarriage party at the Adhurpur unmanned railway crossing in Kanshiram Nagar,about 250 km from Lucknow, leaving 38 bus passengers dead.
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