Bengal train accident kills 1, injures 50

Kolkata, Jan 7 (IBNS) At least one person was killed and about 50 more were injured on late Saturday when a train collided with another standing at a railway station West Bengal's Nadia district, in an accident blamed on human error.

The head-on collision took place when a Sealdah-bound Shantipur-Sealdah local train hit another one of the same route headed for Shantipur, waiting on platform number 2 of Fulia station at around 8 pm.

The deceased has been identified as Purnendu Mandal a railway employee, who worked at a nearby railroad crossing and had possibly attempted to warn the inbound train.

Four of those injured including the driver of the stationary train are in critical condition, reports said.

Three coaches of the Sealdah-bound Shantipur-Sealdah local were derailed after its driver "disregarded" the red signal resulting in the collision, a railway official was quoted as saying.

It appears that the train, which was supposed to arrive on platform number 1 had entered platform number 2, officials said.

The driver of the train that rammed into the stationary one, and the Station Master of the Fulia station reportedly fled the scene after the incident.

The Krishnanagar-Shantipur section of the railways is a single-track route and short-distance ´local´ trains precariously switch tracks at junctions ahead of the stations.

Rescue operations have already begun while a relief train from Kolkata has been rushed to the spot with a medical team, media reports said.

Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for those injured.