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ShareKolkata: At least 10 persons are feared killed and several others were injured after a minibus packed with passengers fell from the over-bridge of the railway tracks of Kolkata's most important eastern railways junction, Howrah station.
According to eyewitnesses the accident took place at around 4 PM, when the mini-bus loaded with passengers lost its balance during a desperate attempt to overtake another bus on the same route. The driver lost his control over the steering and ultimately the bus fell down on the railway tracks from a height of around fifty feet.
Although the chief public relations officer of Eastern Railways, Samir Goswami confirmed the accident, he refused to give any figures regarding the number of people who died or were severely injured. The police and fire services immediately rushed to the spot and after about two hours all the passengers were rescued from within the bus.
The injured were immediately shifted to a nearby railway hospital. The railway minister, Mamata Banerjee, who is currently at Kolkata, immediately sent representatives to the accident spot. Banerjee also assured all possible help from railways for the treatment of the injured.
Following the accident, local train services at Howrah station were severely disrupted for a few hours. Anticipating any further disaster, the railways authorities plugged off high-voltage connections at some of the platforms.
The accident has thrown railway traffic out of the gear. Notably, the Howrah station which is an important junction of the Eastern Railway.
Talking to a channel, Goswami said that the authorities are working to resume the railway traffic.
As a precautionary measure, the railway authorities switched off high tension power supply from platform number 10 to 23.
Local train services, however, from platform number one to five were unaffected by the accident.
