Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed his sympathies to the families of those slain in this morning’s train accident in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal. He has also said that he has spoken to officials to assess the situation, and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is also scheduled to visit the scene. The PM expressed his sadness over the collision and said he was praying for the injured parties to heal quickly.
In a post on X, the Prime Minister wrote, “The railway accident in West Bengal is saddening. Condolences to those who lost their loved ones. I pray that the injured recover at the earliest. Spoke to officials and took stock of the situation. Rescue operations are underway to assist the affected. The Railways Minister Shri @AshwiniVaishnaw Ji is on the way to the site of the mishap as well.”
Additionally, the Prime Minister’s Office announced that the families of the deceased would receive ₹ 2 lakh each, and the injured would receive ₹ 50,000.
About 50 people were injured and eight people, including three railway employees, died when the Kanchanjunga Express, which was traveling from Silchar, Assam, to Sealdah in Kolkata, was struck from behind by a goods train at around 8:55 in the morning near Rangapani station, which is close to New Jalpaiguri. A signal had been overshot by the goods train.
The New Jalpaiguri railway station is a busy one and is used by passengers from all states during their journey to Darjeeling.
Home Minister Amit Shah also condoled the deaths in the collision.
“The railway accident in New Jalpaiguri, West Bengal is very sad. I express my condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in this unfortunate accident and wish for the speedy recovery of the injured,” he posted in Hindi and Bengali on X.
