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Officials rule out terrorist attack in rail mishap

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

Officials at Rail Bhawan, headquarters of the Indian Railways in New Delhi, have discounted the possibility of sabotage or a terrorist attack in the train tragedy in West Bengal.

"As far as we are concerned, there is no sabotage and this morning's accident in Gaisal station is a head-on collision between two trains," said a senior official of the railway ministry.

Initial reports had attributed the accident to a bomb explosion.

Railway officials said Minister Nitish Kumar, who had rushed to the site with Railway Board chairman V K Agarwal, had instituted a high-level inquiry into the mishap.

They pointed out that though a head-on collision had taken place, some explosives might have gone off because of the impact. According to unconfirmed reports, some soldiers travelling on the Brahmaputra Mail might have carried explosives.

According to these officials, the affected coaches of the Awadh-Assam Express were its engine, one passenger-cum-guard-cum-luggage coach, three sleeper-class coaches, one first-class coach and one AC three-tier coach.

The affected coaches of the Brahmaputra Mail were its engine, one passenger-cum-guard-cum-luggage coach, three second-class coaches, and three sleeper-class coaches.

The drivers and assistant drivers of both trains were among those killed in the accident.

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