Chhattisgarh train accident: Death toll rises to 11; bodies retrieved from wreckage
Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) (PTI): The death toll in the collision of a passenger train with a goods train near Bilaspur railway station in Chhattisgarh has gone up to 11, officials said on Wednesday.
Rescue personnel had to toil for hours, cutting through the mangled coach of the passenger train, as several bodies were badly trapped in the wreckage, a railway official said.
The incident occurred around 4 pm on Tuesday when the MEMU (mainline electric multiple unit) passenger train was heading to Bilaspur from Gevra (in neighbouring Korba district).
The affected line was restored on Wednesday morning, the officials said.
"Eleven persons, including six women, have lost their lives, and 20 others were injured in the accident," a statement issued by the Railways said.
After the incident, the railway administration immediately launched relief and rescue operations. The injured persons were being provided with proper medical treatment at nearby hospitals, it added.
The impact of the collision was so severe that a coach of the passenger train ended up on top of a wagon of the cargo train, the railway officials said.
The rescue and restoration work on the affected line was completed by 5.30 am on Wednesday, facilitating the train movement, they said.
The injured passengers have been shifted to Apollo Hospital and Chhattisgarh Institute of Medical Sciences (CIMS) in Bilaspur.
Of the 11 deceased, five have been identified as passenger train local pilot Vidya Sagar (53), Lovkush Shukla (41), Ranjeet Prabhakar (in his early 40s), Shila Yadav (25) and Priya Chandra (21), the officials said.
Four women and two men among the deceased are yet to be identified, they said.
The 20 injured include nine women and a 2-year-old boy. Assistant loco pilot of the passenger train, Rashmi Raj (34), train manager (guard) Ashok Kumar Dixit (54), and guard of the goods train Shailesh Chadra (49) were among those hospitalised, according to the officials.
Those injured in the incident have been provided with an ex gratia of Rs 50,000 each as an advance relief amount, an official statement said.
The railway administration maintained continuous contact with hospitals and ensured medical treatment, transportation, and necessary support for each affected person, it said.
Senior railway officials were monitoring the situation and taking all necessary steps to ensure the speedy recovery of the injured, it added.
"The passenger train hit the stationary goods train from behind at a speed of 60 to 70 kmph after overshooting a red signal," a senior railway official said.
"It is now a matter of investigation as to why the loco pilot jumped the red signal and failed to apply the emergency brakes in time, even though the goods train was within visible distance," the official said.
The passenger train rammed into the brake van with such force that it was badly mangled. After the collision, half motor coach of the passenger train climbed onto the wagon next to the brake van, the official said.
The manager (guard) of the goods train jumped out of the brake van - the last coach of the goods train - at the last moment and sustained minor injuries, the official added.
The railway authorities announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each to the kin of the deceased and Rs 5 lakh to the seriously injured persons, while those who sustained minor injuries will receive Rs 1 lakh assistance, an official statement said.
A detailed inquiry into the incident will be conducted at the level of the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) to ascertain the cause and recommend necessary corrective measures, it said.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai expressed grief over the accident and announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of each of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each to the injured persons.
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'Ab kya hoga, ye rab jane...': Tharoor takes dig at failed US-Iran talks in Pakistan
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New Delhi (PTI): Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday took a swipe at the "failed" US-Iran peace talks in Pakistan with an Urdu couplet, saying only god knows now what will happen.
"Ab kya hoga, ye rab jane; Na woh mane, na ye mane (only god knows what will happen now as both sides did not agree)," Tharoor said on X, tagging a post-talks video clip of US Vice President J D Vance, who led the American delegation at the negotiations in Islamabad.
The United States and Iran failed to reach a peace deal at their historic 21-hour talks in Pakistan, leaving the fate of a tenuous two-week ceasefire in doubt, with both sides attempting to hold each other responsible for the collapse of the negotiations.
अब क्या होगा, ये रब जाने
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) April 13, 2026
ना वो माने, ना ये माने https://t.co/DYrXpa7C8h
Vance said the Iranian side did not accept Washington's terms for ending the war even as the US presented its "final and best offer".
Hours after the talks collapsed, US President Donald Trump said on social media that the negotiations with Tehran failed as "Iran is unwilling to give up its nuclear ambitions".
Trump said the US Navy will actively interdict any vessel in international waters found to have paid tolls to Iran for transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route that handles roughly 20 per cent of global oil and LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas).
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the head of the Iranian negotiation team, said it is for the US to decide whether it can "earn our trust or not".
The Iranian foreign ministry, without elaborating, said the US side resorted to "excessive" and "illegal demands".
The failure to reach an agreement has dimmed the prospect of reopening the Strait of Hormuz to stabilise the global energy marke
