Major train accident averted in Jharkhand

PTI

Ranchi, June 7

A major train accident was averted at Jharkhand's Bokaro after a tractor crashed the railway gate near Bhojudih station when the New Delhi-Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express was passing from there, an official said.

The incident occurred at the Santhaldih railway crossing on Tuesday evening and the tractor got stuck between the railway track and the gate.

"A tractor crashed the railway gate when it was closing at the Santhaldih railway crossing of the Bhojudih station in Bokaro district. However, the driver of the train applied the brakes and the train stopped, averting any major accident," Manish Kumar, DRM, Adra Division, South Eastern Railway, told PTI.

Kumar said the incident occurred around 5 pm and the train was delayed by about 45 minutes.

He said the tractor has been seized and an FIR lodged at the police station concerned, while the gate man has been suspended.

The driver of the tractor fled the spot.

The incident occurred barely days after one of the worst train tragedies in the country at the Bahanaga Bazar station in Odisha's Balasore district, which claimed 288 lives and left more than 1,100 people injured after a crash involving Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express and a goods train.