Rail link with Chattogram restored five hours after deadly Cumilla crash

Rail communication between Chattogram and the rest of the country was restored around five hours after a horrific accident at the Paduar Bazar railway crossing in Cumilla.

A relief train arrived at the accident site around 8:00 am on Sunday, March 22, and removed the damaged Dhaka Mail train and the bus that was stuck on the tracks. Train services gradually resumed afterwards.

Mostafizur Rahman, Manager of the Railway's Chattogram Division, confirmed the matter.

Earlier, around 3:00 am on Saturday night, a bus collided with a train at a railway crossing in the Paduar Bazar area of Sadar South upazila. A Dhaka-bound train from Chattogram collided head-on with a passenger bus of Mamun Special Transport heading from Chapainawabganj to Chattogram. The train dragged the bus for about one kilometre.

Following the accident, seven bodies were initially recovered, but the death toll later rose to 12. The injured were rescued and admitted to Cumilla Medical College Hospital.

Eyewitnesses and passengers alleged that the accident was caused by the negligence of the signalman at the railway gate. They also expressed anger that repeated calls to the emergency service number 999 went unanswered.

Fire Service and Civil Defence Deputy Assistant Director Md Idris said it is initially believed that the bus had moved onto the railway track due to the absence of a proper signal at the crossing.

Cumilla EPZ Police Outpost Inspector Mohammad Saiful Islam said rescue operations began at night upon receiving news of the accident.

Dr Ajoy Bhowmik, a physician in the emergency department of Cumilla Medical College Hospital, said 12 bodies had been brought to the hospital. Two have been identified, while efforts are underway to identify the others.

Senior railway and police officials visited the scene in the morning.