The Ministry of Railways, on October 12, announced an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh for the families of the four deceased who were killed in the train derailment incident in Bihar’s Buxar.
The Delhi-Kamakhya North East Express train’s derailment in Buxar on October 11, while on its way to Kamakhya in Assam, has led to the cancellation of 10 trains on the route and the diversion of more than 21 trains.
The Ministry of Railways took to microblogging site X, formerly Twitter, to update on the situation. It has shared a list of all the trains which have either been cancelled or diverted due to the ongoing rescue and relief operations in Buxar.
Important Information regarding trains affected due to derailment of Train no. 12506.
— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) October 12, 2023
List of trains diverted/delayed/short terminated/cancelled/rescheduled due to derailment of train no. 12506. pic.twitter.com/5DocPXbJ4k
In the late evening hours of October 11, more than 21 coaches of the Delhi-Kamakhya North East Express (12506), coming from Delhi’s Anand Vihar Terminus, derailed near the Raghunathpur station in Bihar’s Buxar at around 9:35pm.
Till now, at least four have been confirmed dead in the accident, and nearly 70 injured.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) quickly swung into action following the incident, commencing rescue and relief operations. Teams of medical services were also quickly deployed to attend to the injured.
“Medical teams have been sent to the spot,” Deepak Kumar, Inspector, Railway Police Force, told in an interaction with the press. He also added that the district administration had alerted local hospitals in Buxar town.
“We have sent rescue and medical teams to the spot. The railways have also issued emergency helpline numbers for passengers. These are 9771449971 (Patna), 8905697493 (Danapur), 8306182542 (Ara), 8306182542, and 7759070004,” Chief Public Relations officer of the East Central Railway (ECR) Birendra Kumar said.
Tarun Prakash, General Manager of ECR, confirmed that 21 coaches of the train have derailed. “Our priority right now is to provide medical aid and make arrangements for the passengers so that they can reach their destination. We will investigate the reason behind the incident after rescue operations”, he also noted.
Minister of Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw, has been closely monitoring the situation, and sharing constant updates by posting on microblogging site X.
In the wee hours of October 12, the minister took to X to express his condolences for those affected in the incident and also stated that authorities would conduct a thorough probe into it.
The Ministry of Railways has set up control rooms across various locations to provide assistance to affected passengers and their families. These helpline desks can be accessed at:
- New Jalpaiguri: 8170034242
- Jalpaiguri Road: 7605036150
- New Alipur Duar: 7595001310
- New Cooch Behar: 7605036155
- Kokrajhar: 03564234766
- New Bongaigaon: 9957554456
- Katihar: 9608815880
- Barsoi: 7541806358
- Kishanganj: 7542028020
- Alipur Duar : 9002052957, 03564-270871/270870/253498
- Rangiya: 9287998166
- Barpeta Road: 9287998173
- Kamakhya: 0361-2674857
- Guwahati: 0361-2731621/22/23
- Lumding: 9957553915
- Tinsukia: 9957555984
- Prayagraj Jn.
0532-2408128
0532-2407353
0532-2408149 - Fatehpur
05180-222026
05180-222025
05180-222436 - Kanpur Central
0512-2323018
0512-2323016
0512-2323015 - Etawah Junction
7525001249 - Tundla Jn.
05612-220338
05612-220339
05612-220337 - Aligarh Jn.
0571-2409348
Buxar MP Ashwini Kumar Choubey, who visited the site of the mishap on October 12 morning to take stock of the situation, said in an interaction with the media, ” It is a tragic incident. 4 people died and several got injured. I informed the Railways Minister, DM, NDRF, SDRF, Chief Secy, and DGP about the incident last night and also appealed to people to reach there and help people. I thank people for that…The reason behind the incident is being investigated”.
