M A I N   N E W S

Day after, near-miss in Sangrur
Shariq Majeed
Tribune News Service

Sangrur, July 20
The alertness of a railway employee averted a major accident as a majority of the bogies of an express train was detached from the engine and four bogies due to breaking of an iron hook minutes after the train left the Lehragaga railway station at 8.52 am today.

The Jammu-Kanyakumari Himsagar Express left the Lehragaga station at 8.52 am and was at high speed when the iron hook of a bogey broke down, detaching the majority of bogies from the engine and four bogies.

Sources said assistant railway station master Hukum Chand noticed that some bogies, numbering around 17, had been detached from the engine and four more bogies due to breakage of an iron hook of a bogey.

The sources added that immediately he raised hue and cry and asked passengers to pull the chain. They added that after the passengers pulled the chain, the engine stopped. The detached bogies that were also moving at a high speed, hit it with a bang.

They added that fortunately, no passenger received injuries in the accident but there was some loss to the bogies as these rammed into the engine and rest of the bogies from behind. They added that after the accident, the detached bogies were taken to other track and passengers were shifted.The sources added that it took the railway staff about two hours to shift the passenger.

An official of the Lehragaga railway station told mediapersons that it was the duty of the carriage and wagon staff to check the train before it left its source station. He added that the staff might not have checked the train.