Two persons were killed and six others injured when the engine and two coaches of the Guwahati-bound Capital Express derailed in West Bengal on Tuesday night, an official said.The engine, an SLR coach and a second class coach derailed near Samuktala Road station in Alipurduar district, near the West Bengal-Assam border, at around 9.15 p.m on Tuesday, the NorthEast Frontier Railway official said in a release.The train had originated from Rajendra Nagar terminal station in Patna.
The two deceased, both male and residents of Faridabad in Haryana, have been identified as Munshi Nath (65) and Mahesh Nath (40). Two of the injured - Indrajit Mandal (25) and Saha Jamal (35) - had to be hospitalised.The four other injured - Parikshit Mandal (40), Pritam Mandal (16), Rupa Mandal (34) and Surender Prasad (38) - left for home after they were administered first aid. All six injured were given ex-gratia of Rs 5,000.About 150 of the stranded passengers were taken back to Alipurduar by the Kamakhya-Alipurduar Intercity Express.
The unaffected portion of the 19 coach train was detached and resumed its journey at 5.10 a.m. on Wednesday after completion of rescue and relief operation and reached Guwahati station at 11 a.m. with the remaining passengers.The prima facie cause of the accident was overshooting of signal by the driver, the release said."Preliminary investigation shows the red signal was overlooked by the driver," a railway official said.Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has ordered a "thorough inquiry" to fix responsibility.At least three trains were cancelled, two short terminated and eight trains were diverted following the accident.Among the trains cancelled were 15769/15770 Alipurduar-Lumding-Alipurduar Intercity Express and 15771/15772 Alipurduar-Kamakhya-Alipurduar Intercity Express.