3 killed in Gaibandha rail sabotage

At least three passengers were killed and 40 more injured when a train derailed after miscreants removed fishplates from rail tracks in Bonarpara of Gaibandha early today.

Source: Photo: Star

Three compartments of Meghna Express derail following removal of fishplates in Chandpur early Wednesday. No injury was reported.

The accident occurred on the fifth day of the BNP-led 18-party opposition combine-sponsored countrywide 131-hour blockade of rail, roads and waterways.

Meanwhile, rail communications between Chandpur and Chittagong remain suspended since 5:38am as a train derailed following removal of fishplates from the railway tracks by blockaders in Chandpur.

Six to seven people got trapped inside the derailed compartments of Santahar-bound Padmarag Express, reports our Rangpur correspondent quoting Mohammad Sazid Hossain, superintendent of police (SP) in Gaibandha.

The death toll may rise as the rescue operation continues, the SP added.

GAIBANDHA

Three passengers were killed and several others also critically injured following the train derailment, which halted railway communications of Bonarpara with other parts of the country.

Two persons were detained in this connection, said Ayub Hossain Mollah, station master of Bonarpara Railway Station.

The injured were rushed to Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College and Hospital in Bogra and Gaibandha Sadar Hospital, reports our Rangpur correspondent quoting Mohammad Sazid Hossain, superintendent of police (SP) in Gaibandha.

The derailment occurred around 1:30am when miscreants removed fishplates from rail lines at Kachuya, a place in between Mohimaganj and Bonarpara, the SP said.

The engine and three compartments of the train that set off from Lalmonirhat derailed following the fishplate removal, he added.

CHANDPUR

Train service between Chandpur and Chittagong came to a halt as three bogies of Intercity Meghna Express veered off the tracks in between Shahtoli and Madhuroad, on the outskirts of the town, reports our Chandpur correspondent.

The derailment took place as miscreants removed fishplates from the tracks, said Assistant master of Chandpur Railway Station Maruf Hossain.

But none was reported hurt as the train was moving slowing, railway sources said.