Three wagons of a freight train derailed, and one of its wagons entered a road in Malgodown Basti near Basanti Colony in Rourkela on Wednesday. No casualties were reported in the incident, said official sources.
The incident occurred at around 6:30 am. The wagon came off the track, damaging a stationed autorickshaw and touching a shop. “Fortunately, no vehicles or people were passing that road at the time. This incident happened before the school children passed the road,” said a local of Malgodown Basti.
Neither the driver nor passengers were inside the autorickshaw. It was a great escape for them. “The train narrowly avoided a big mishap. If it entered the slum, it would have crushed houses, vehicles, and people,” said Babu Behera, a passerby.
Due to the derailment, vehicular traffic was affected between Malgodown level crossing and Basanti Colony road. People panicked after one of the wagons entered the slum area by damaging the wall of the railway yard.
Om Prakash Charan, Chief Public Relations Officer, South Eastern Railway (SER), said the incident occurred on the goods shed line, not on the mainline.
“The train driver, while placing the freight train at the goods shed line, could not control it, and a wagon broke the wall placed at the dead end of the track and entered the road,” he added.
He said no injuries or casualties were reported. “Our staff immediately reached the spot and restored the track. No train services were affected because of this incident. There is an alternative road to clear vehicular traffic. We cleared the road by 9.30am. Everything is normal now,” he added.