3 killed in Gaibandha rail sabotage
An engine of Padmarag Express veered off the rail tracks following removal of fishplates at Bonarpara in Gaibandha early today. Photo: STAR
At least three passengers were killed and 35 injured when a train derailed after miscreants removed fishplates from rail tracks in Bonarpara of Gaibandha early today.
Meanwhile, rail communications on Dhaka-Khulna and Chandpur-Chittagong routes came to a halt since early morning as two passenger trains derailed in Khulna and Chandpur following same kinds of sabotage.
At least 10 passengers were injured as the train derailed in Khulna.
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.
Railways became the main target of the blockaders as the BNP-Jamaat men ripped up fishplates and set fire to tracks, snapping rail communications on different routes during the blockades.
Two persons were detained in this connection, said Saidur Raman, officer-in-charge of Bonarpara Railway Police Station.
GAIBANDHA
The train derailment halted railway communications of Bonarpara with other parts of the country.
The rail communications on the routes however will become normal very soon as the rescue operation was warped up around 11:00am, reports our Rangpur correspondent quoting Mohammad Sazid Hossain, superintendent of police (SP) in Gaibandha.
A salvage train from Bonarpara and fire fighters managed to remove the derailed compartments from the rail tracks more than nine hours after the accident.
Of the injured, the condition of seven people was stated to be critical as the Santahar-bound Padmarag Express derailed around 1:30am, the SP added.
The critically injured were rushed to Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College and Hospital in Bogra and Gaibandha Sadar Hospital, he added.
The derailment occurred 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, the police chief of Gaibandha added.
KHULNA
At least 10 passengers were injured as five compartments of Khulna-bound Nakshikatha derailed after blockade supporters removed fishplates from the railway tracks near Bejerdanga Rail Station in Phultala upazila around 1:30am.
Train service of Khulna with Dhaka and northern districts including Rajshahi remain suspended following the derailment.
Ekram Ali Molla, officer-in-charge of Khulna Government Railway Police Station, said the train was coming from Goalonda of Rajbari with passengers and daily essentials yesterday evening.
The injured passengers received first aid from a local hospital, he said.
A relief train from Khulna Railway Station has already reached the spot and is working to restore the rail link, said the OC said in the afternoon.
CHANDPUR
Three compartments of Meghna Express derail following removal of fishplates in Chandpur early Wednesday. No injury was reported. Photo: Star
Train service between Chandpur and Chittagong came to a halt as three compartments 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.
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