Three Injured as Big Drill Machine Head Hits Moving Train in Chhattisgarh; Probe Ordered

At least three people were injured after the head of a big drilling machine crashed into a moving train on the outskirts of Chhattisgarh's capital Raipur.

Raipur:Two passengers and a sanitation staffer were injured after the head of a big drilling machine crashed into a moving train on the outskirts of Chhattisgarh's capital Raipur on Sunday, officials said. The incident took place around 10 am when the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (Mumbai)-bound Shalimar-LTT Express was passing through Urkura railway station ahead of the Raipur station, a railway public relations official (PRO) here said.

The railway has ordered a senior administrative grade (SAG) level inquiry into the incident. Earlier, officials had said that a pole located near the tracks fell on the train. The piece of metal was later found to be a drill machine reamer which looks like a pole, the official said. As the train reached Raipur station, rail personnel, including doctors rushed to the affected coach and administered first aid to the injured passengers, the official said.

Injured passenger Devari Dhivar (30) and sanitation staffer (from on-board housekeeping service) Narayan Chandra Bag (30) were then admitted to a private hospital here. The second injured passenger, Somil Mandal (12), was administered first-aid at the station, he said. Mandal, who was travelling from Kharagpur to Mumbai, was later sent to his destination along with his family on another train, he said.

After learning about the incident, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of Raipur division Sanjeev Kumar and other senior officials reached Raipur station to assess the incident, he said. The DRM also visited the hospital, spoke to the kin of the injured and instructed railway personnel to ensure the best possible medical assistance to the victims.

Assistant Commercial Manager Avinash Kumar Anand handed over a cheque of Rs 50,000 as ex gratia to Dhivar, he said. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) has registered a case in connection with the incident, he said. As initially thought, the metal was not a pole, the PRO said, citing the investigation.

Rather, it was a reamer of a horizontal directional drilling (HDD) machine engaged in drilling work by the state-run Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company Limited (CSPDCL), he said. The electricity company's contractor was conducting drilling operations beneath the tracks without informing the railways. The machine's reamer was being pulled out when the train was passing through Urkura. But it unexpectedly came out of the ground and hit the train, he said.

The reamer scraped three AC coaches (B4, B5 and B6) damaging window pans, and injuring three persons besides causing scratches on the bogies. CSPDCL officials were called to the accident site where they admitted that the contractor had ignored safety standards while doing the work, the PRO said.

The railways has ordered a senior administrative grade level probe into the incident and action will be taken against those found guilty, he said, adding that the train left for its destination around noon.