Stationary wagons start rolling after storm, 6 killed

BHUBANESWAR/KENDRAPADA: A goods train, stationary for the past three months, accidentally rolled on six people at Jaipur Keonjhar Road station on Wednesday evening, killing them and leaving six others injured, barely days after the horrific accident in Bahanaga, barely 80 km away.
East Coast Railway spokesman Biswajit Sahu said the monsoon reserve rake comprising 20 wagons carrying sand and crushed stone to be used in case of washouts during heavy rains, was stationed there for the past three months without an engine.
A group of workers sought shelter beneath the carriages during a sudden rain and thunderstorm when the wagon rolled, triggering the accident, he said.
Sahu said the carriages unexpectedly rolled down a short distance from their original position, probably trigged by a storm. "Since enough precautions are taken for the rakes not to move, what triggered its movement during the storm will be investigated," he said.
Chief district medical officer of Jaipur Sibasis Maharana said they received six bodies at the district headquarters hospital. Two injured were referred to SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack because their condition was critical, he said.
The workers worked for the Indian Railways and were employed through a contractor. Locals said workers used to take rest under the standing rake in scorching heat and during rain and kept their belongings under it because it was stationed there for quite some time.
"I was taking shelter in a tea stall near the station to save me from the rain and when suddenly the goods train started rolling and some workers who were sitting under the train were killed and injured," said Nalini anta Behera, 35, a witness.
"The body parts of the workers were scattered on the track," said Amiya Jena, a local tea stall owner near the railway station.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik announced ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each for next of kin of the deceased from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund.