Residents of Old Mirjalguda locality had a providential escape after a twin-engined goods train went off the tracks and almost crashed into the locality early on Monday morning. It came to a halt after hitting the compound wall of a house. There were no casualties or injuries to anyone.
Though the reasons for the mishap is being ascertained, the possibility of brake failure is not ruled out.
The goods train carrying rice bags of Food Corporation of India (FCI) was proceeding to Chinnababu Samudram in Tamil Nadu from Nizamabad.
``The goods train crossed the Malkajgiri railway station around 4.50 am. It went not more than 100 feet away from the station when the two engines and five wagons jumped off the rails,’’ South Central Railway (SCR) officials said.
The engines and five wagons went off the tracks and slid into a 15-feet trench.
The train came to a halt after it hit the compound wall of a house in the Old Mirjalguda locality. Luckily, the trees and bushes leading to the trench slowed down the train’s movement. Otherwise the train might have crashed into the residential houses.
While the two engines came to a halt after hitting the compound wall, the wagons got mangled as they went over one another. The train was carrying 36 wagons. Train driver Mahender Kumar and assistant driver VV Ganesh jumped out, once they sensed danger. “I heard a loud noise and rushed out of the house. Initially, I could not make out what happened but later I found the train almost crashing into our locality.
It halted after hitting the compound wall of a house,’’ said S Mallesh, a resident of Old Mirjalguda.
Mallesh is an autorickshaw driver who starts his day in the early morning to pick up passengers alighting at the nearby Malkajgiri railway station.
‘‘ I went on to the tracks and found the drivers leaving the place.
One of them said that brake failure resulted in the mishap,’’ Mallesh said and added that the the loud horn of the train was heard for several minutes which was probably due to some technical error. Locals alleged that the track might have been damaged due to the demolition taking place near the railway lines. ``A three-storeyed cabin, once used by the railways, was being demolished by using heavy machinery. It might have damaged the tracks,’’ a resident said. Hyderabad divisional railway manager Narottham Das told reporters that a three-member committee was constituted to probe the reasons for the mishap.
SCR officials said the train might be moving at a speed of 60 kmph when the mishap took place.
Rail traffic on the route was affected following the mishap. Two accident relief vans, carrying a heavyduty crane, were rushed to the accident site and relaying of the rail line was taken up which went on till evening.
