'Felt like an earthquake': Kanchanjunga Express passengers recount horrific collision

NEW DELHI: At least nine people were killed and over 50 were injured as a goods train rammed into Kanchanjunga Express on early Monday morning near New Jalpaiguri in West Bengal.
A passenger of the Sealdah-Kanchanjunga Express, standing beside a damaged coach, recounted that their train was moving at a slow pace as it approached Rangapani, located a short distance from New Jalpaiguri."Our train was moving very slowly when it reached Rangapani, a few kilometers from New Jalpaiguri," he said.
Another traveler described experiencing a sudden, intense jolt accompanied by a loud noise, causing the train to come to an abrupt stop. After exiting the train, the passenger observed that a goods train had collided with their rake from the rear.
"We were having tea when the train stopped suddenly with a jerk," a passenger recalled. A pregnant woman, who was traveling with her family, mentioned that the impact caused her to fall from her seat.
"It felt like an earthquake. It took us some time to collect ourselves and understand what happened," she said.
An individual from Agartala, who was situated in coach S6 of the Kanchanjunga Express, reported feeling a sudden jolt, followed by the compartment coming to a screeching halt.
"My wife, child and I somehow managed to come out of the mangled coach. We are currently stranded... The rescue operations also started quite late," the passenger said.
Railways minister visits site, probe begins
Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the Commissioner of Railway Safety has started a probe into the cause of the accident. He added that measures will be taken to prevent a recurrence of the circumstances that led to the accident.
The minister also verified that the rescue efforts at the scene have been concluded.
Earlier in the day, Jaya Varma Sinha, the chairperson of the Railway Board, suggested that the collision might have been caused by a potential "human error" on the part of the goods train's loco pilot, who died from injuries sustained in the accident. Sinha indicated that the goods train may have ignored a signal and collided with the Kanchanjungha Express, which was traveling from Agartala to Sealdah.
(With PTI inputs)