Detached train wagons hit bus, other vehicles at rail crossing; two killed

Two people were killed and at least eight others were injured after five detached wagons of an oil tanker train crashed into a passenger bus, a human hauler locally known as Mahindra, and a battery run auto-rickshaw at a railway crossing in Rajbari.

The accident occurred at around 9:00 p m on 27 July at the Khankhanapur railway crossing in Rajbari Sadar Upazila.

The deceased were identified as Monowar Hossain (50), an auto-rickshaw passenger from Brac Para in Rajbari Sadar, and Abdul Malek (45), a passenger in the human hauler from Shamukhkhola village in Baliakandi upazila. At least eight others were injured and received treatment at local hospitals.

According to police and railway officials, the train was returning to Rajbari with 30 fuel tank wagons after unloading fuel at a power plant in Faridpur. At around 8:40 pm on 27 July, the coupling connecting the last five wagons failed just before the Khankhanapur railway crossing.

Unaware that the detached wagons were still rolling toward the crossing, the gatekeeper raised the barrier after the locomotive and the first 25 wagons had passed.

An Aporna Paribahan bus travelling from Faridpur to Daulatdia, along with a human hauler and a battery-powered auto-rickshaw, then began crossing the tracks. Moments later, the five detached wagons slammed into all three vehicles. The human hauler and auto-rickshaw were crushed, while the bus was thrown partly off the road and came to rest beside the railway line.

Several passengers in the vehicles sustained serious injuries. Local residents, police from the Khankhanapur Investigation Centre, Fire Service personnel, Highway Police and Rajbari Sadar Police rescued the injured and took them to nearby hospitals. Two of the critically injured later died while undergoing treatment at Faridpur Medical College Hospital.

Rajbari Sadar Police Station Officer-in-Charge Uttam Kumar Ghosh said police are investigating the cause of the accident. He said five critically injured victims had been transferred to Faridpur Medical College Hospital, where two died later that night.

An eyewitness said the bus, human hauler and auto-rickshaw began crossing the tracks immediately after the barrier was raised. Within seconds, the detached wagons struck the vehicles with great force, dragging them along the railway line. "It all happened in less than a minute," the witness said. "Had the barrier been raised just a minute later, the accident might have been avoided."

Another eyewitness, Momin, said the gatekeeper may not have realised that several detached wagons were still rolling toward the crossing.

The detached wagons were taken to Amirabad Railway Station in Faridpur at around 12:30 am on 28 July, Rajbari Railway Senior Sub-Assistant Engineer Mahabub Hasan said.