The Hindu Business Line : 1 killed, 25 hurt as Magadh Exp derails

THE Patna-New Delhi Magadh Vikramshila Express derailed close to Buxar in Bihar in the early hours of Sunday. One person was killed and 25 were injured, nine of them seriously, as 14 coaches jumped track, according to Railway officials.

The statutory inquiry by the Commissioner of Railway Safety, Eastern Circle, has been ordered and senior State Government and railway officials have reached the accident site. The Railways Minister, Mr Nitish Kumar, has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 1 lakh to the next of kin of the passenger who died and Rs 15,000 each to the nine persons who suffered serious injury.

The East Central Railway officials said that prima facie, the cause of the accident appeared to be sabotage. But the theory was debunked by the Bihar police officials, who said no conclusions could be drawn before the official inquiry into the incident. The local police would conduct their own investigation into the mishap, senior police officials said.

A senior Railway official, however, maintained that the track had been "found cut" at two places at the accident site and that was the likely cause of the derailment. The East Central Railway Chief Public Relations Officer, Mr A.K. Chandra, refused to speculate on the cause of the accident. He said that the Commissioner of Railway Safety, Mr Mahesh Chand, would reach the site tomorrow and begin his official inquiry.

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