15 Dead, 60 Injured As Trains Collide In West Bengal

At least 15 passengers died and 60 others were injured, after three rear coaches of the stationary Sealdah-bound Kanchanjunga Express derailed on Monday morning as a goods train collided with it in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district, officials said.

• Goods train rams into stationary Kanchanjunga Express in Darjeeling

The toll could rise, as multiple agencies of the state and Centre were simultaneously working on war footing along with locals to rescue passengers who could still be trapped inside, they said.

The deceased include the pilot and co-pilot of the goods train, and the guard of the passenger train, a senior railway official said.

The injured were being shifted to the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital, police said.

The three rear compartments derailed under the impact of the collision from behind by the locomotive of the goods train near Rangapani station, about 30 km from North Bengal’s New Jalpaiguri station, the official said.

In a post on X, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the “railway accident in West Bengal is saddening. Condolences to those who lost their loved ones”.

“I pray that the injured recover at the earliest. Spoke to officials and took stock of the situation. Rescue operations are underway to assist the affected. The Railways Minister Shri @AshwiniVaishnaw Ji is on the way to the site of the mishap as well,” he said.