One day in the early morning, a goods train derailed and ran into a residential area in Rourkela, Odisha. The accident took place at about 6 o’clock in the morning when the train, after derailing, moved for five meters and then stopped. For the time being, the goods train is being shunted and its bogies are being sorted in order to depart, but it has caused concern among the locals.
By the grace of God, there were no deaths or injuries, but the motorman left the scene of the accident. The train had actually rammed into a residential colony that was allegedly constructed illegally close to the railway tracks and some people in the area have even suggested that the derailment may have been done on purpose to erase the residents from the area.
Despite the fact that the crash was rather serious and might have caused much damage, the absence of casualties can be regarded as a blessing. The police are still investigating the cause of the derailment and the motorman’s actions after the accident have also raised a lot of questions. However, at the moment there are no conclusions about the intentional character of the crash.
This accident shows that there is a need for more strict rules regarding construction of buildings near the railways as consequences of similar incidents may be severe. It is probable that the authorities will have to investigate the cause of the accident to prevent such thing from happening again in the future.
