Only six killed in Bihar train mishap: Railways

The Railways have clarified that only six people, including three women, have died in the train accident in Bihar's Vaishali district early Sunday. Earlier, principal secretary, disaster management, Pratyay Amrit, had told reporters that seven people died in the mishap.

"It was on account of a communication gap at hospitals in Vaishali district that a mix-up occurred. One dead person at a hospital was counted among those who lost their lives in the train mishap. Later, upon verification, it was found that he was not a passenger of the train," Rajesh Kumar, the chief public relations of East Central Railway, said. The identities of all six deceased passengers have been ascertained, he said.

"Among the injured, about 30 were rushed to the Sadar hospital at Hajipur, the district headquarters. While eight others with minor injuries were discharged after treatment at a primary health centre in Sahadai Buzurg, where the mishap took place," Kumar added. Eleven bogies of Delhi-bound Seemanchal Express jumped the tracks around 4am at Sahadai Buzurg, close to Mahanar Road in the Sonpur division, railway and police officials said.

Prima facie, the derailment was caused by a rail fracture, they said. According to a list issued by Railways, the deceased have been identified as Shamsuddin Alam (25), Ansar Alam (21) and Saeeda Khatun (45) - all belonging to Uttar Dinajpur district in West Bengal - and Indra Devi (65), Sudarshan Das (60) and Eelcha Devi (60), all hailing from Khagaria in Bihar. Meanwhile, a report from Hajipur quoted ECR General Manager Lalit Chandra Trivedi as saying that "seven of the injured passengers have been referred to the PMCH hospital in Patna for better treatment".

(With inputs from agencies.)