Post by : Raina
Al-Fahim
An overnight rear-end collision near Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh left at least 11 people dead and roughly 20 injured after a passenger train struck a stationary freight train. One coach of the passenger service was forced up onto a cargo wagon, and emergency crews spent hours stabilising the wreckage and recovering victims.
Among the fatalities was the passenger train's driver; the assistant driver, a woman, was critically hurt and taken to a private hospital. Other injured travellers are being treated at nearby medical facilities. Rescue work wrapped up in the early hours of Wednesday, and rail traffic through the area has since resumed.
Indian Railways has ordered an investigation into the circumstances of the crash and said it will provide monetary assistance to the families of those killed and to the injured. Chhattisgarh's chief administrator, Vishnu Deo Sai, issued condolences to the victims' families.
Rail accidents remain a persistent challenge in India, where more than 12 million passengers use about 14,000 trains across roughly 64,000 kilometres of track each day. Despite ongoing safety programmes, hundreds of incidents occur annually, often linked to human error or ageing signalling equipment. The 2023 derailment in eastern India, which resulted in over 280 deaths, remains one of the country's deadliest recent rail disasters.
Officials and safety experts say the collision highlights persistent gaps in infrastructure and signalling, and underscores the need for further investment and stricter safety protocols to reduce the risk of similar events.
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