Seven people were killed and an equal number were injured in a train accident in North Cacher Hills district of Assam on Monday.
The goods train fell off a railway bridge between Dihakho and Mupa stations of the Lumding-Silchar Hill Section of the Northeastern Frontier Railway (NFR). The train was carrying a rice consignment from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and was on its way to Barak Valley in southern Assam.
Chief public relations officer (CPRO) Trikalagya Rabha said the mishap occurred when the train was crossing a bridge nearly 52 km from Lumding. Some trackmen of the NFR were on the bridge, when the two locomotives hauling the train fell off the bridge along with seven loaded wagons.
The driver of the locomotive Deepak Sen and six of the trackmen were killed on the scene. The seven trackmen injured in the mishap have been admitted to a nearby hospital, said Mr Rabha.
Though the incident took place in a militant affected area, the CPRO ruled out the possibility of a sabotage resulting in the derailment and collapse of the bridge.
The accident brought the rail way traffic on the Lumdingh-Silchar Hill section to a halt. Senior railway officials have rushed to the scene. Mr Rabha said that Commissioner for Railway Safety (Northeast Frontier Circle) would start a statutory enquiry into the accident on Wednesday.