In another devastating incident in Odisha, a group of laborers faced a fatal accident when wagons of a goods train ran over them near the Jajpur-Keonjhar Road station on Wednesday. The incident resulted in the death of six workers, while two others were severely injured, according to officials.
The victims were contractual laborers hired by a railway contractor to perform maintenance work. They had sought shelter from a powerful “Norwester” storm under a stationary rake of the goods train, which had no engine. Unfortunately, due to heavy thunderstorms, the monsoon reserve rake started moving, crushing the workers who were attempting to vacate the tracks, as explained by Biswajit Sahu, the Chief Public Relation Officer of East Coast Railway (ECoR).
“This is an extremely unfortunate incident. The workers, engaged by the contractor for railway work, sought refuge under the stationary wagons. When the wagons began moving due to strong winds, the workers were trying to escape from the tracks. That is when this incident occurred,” stated Sahu.
Railway officials at the scene promptly transported the victims to the hospital. Unfortunately, six workers lost their lives, while two critically injured individuals were admitted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. DRM Khurda Road, along with divisional railway officials, hurried to the accident site to assess the situation.
Deeply saddened by the unfortunate incident, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed his condolences and announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to be provided to the families of the deceased. He also instructed the relevant authorities to ensure that the injured workers receive the best possible medical treatment and wished them a speedy recovery.
It is worth noting that just a few days ago, a major accident near the Bahanaga Bazar railway station in Odisha’s Balasore district claimed the lives of 288 people, with over 1,100 individuals sustaining injuries. The accident involved the Chennai-bound Coromandel Express, the Howrah-bound SMVP-Howrah Superfast Express, and a goods train on the evening of June 2. (Edited)