Rezaul Huq, Sylhet
At least five people have been killed and around 67 injured after an intercity train derailed at Baramchal in Moulvibazar’s Kulaura upazila. Five bogies of Dhaka-bound Upaban Express train, coming from Sylhet, derailed around 11:40pm on Sunday after a culvert over the Barochhara Canal broke down, according to railway and police officials.
Two of the bogies fell into the canal and one of them overturned, while the other bogies remained tilted. Following the derailment, rail communication between Sylhet and rest of the country has snapped. Meanwhile, confirming the death toll, Moulvibazar Civil Surgeon Dr Shahjahan Kabir said: "Three of the killed are females while two are males."
"Moreover, 67 passengers have been injured. Of them, 20 are in critical condition and undergoing treatment at Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital" he added. Four of the deceased were identified as- Manwara Parveen, 45, wife of Bari Mia of Kulaura upazila, Sanjida Akhter, daughter of Md Akram Molla of Mollahat upazila in Bagerhat, Fahmida Yasmin Eva, daughter of Abdul Bari of Daksin Surma upazila of Sylhet, and Md Kawsar, hailed from Sunamganj.
Meanwhile, concerned sources alleged that possibility of the accident was expected as the train was carrying passengers three times its normal capacity.
They said as vehicular movement on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway is suspended for a full week, all Dhaka-bound passengers had been thronging at Sylhet rail station in great numbers. Sources said road communication between Dhaka and Sylhet was halted since last seven days after railings on the fourth span of the Shahbazpur Bridge on the Titas river in Brahmanbaria broke on June 18 evening.
Mentionable, Department of Roads and Highways issued a press release on June 18, requesting those plying on the highway to use Sarail-Nasirnagar-Lakhai-Habiganj-Shayestaganj road as an alternative. Vehicular movement on the bridge on Titas has not been resumed till filling this report on Monday afternoon.
Concerned sources said since the disruption of Dhaka-Sylhet road communication people had no alternative to railway. “Usually standing tickets are sold one hour before a train starts, but during the last week, standing ticket was not available even a day before the departure time of the train. Number of passengers in Dhaka-Sylhet trains became so overwhelming during the last week that the railway authorities in Sylhet were forced to stop supplying standing tickets.
“On Monday also the situation was same, the train was carrying passengers three times its normal capacity. That’s why the culvert caved in,” sources claimed.
Around 5am on Monday, rescuers started searching the bogies for trapped or injured passengers, Habiganj Fire Service and Civil Defence’s Deputy Assistant Director Shimul Md Rafi told reporters at the scene. He said 11 units were conducting the rescue operation at the scene alongside police and Border Guard Bangladesh personnel, as well as the locals.
