Guwahati:
Barely couple of hours after Puri-Guwahati Express left the platform on Sunday evening, a powerful IED(Improvised Explosive Device) planted on the tracks exploded, derailing four coaches at Bhatkuchi, in lower Assam. At least 40 passengers were injured in the blast. Soon after the explosion, the Railway relief team and Army personnel rushed to the spot to rescue the passengers. The injured passengers were admitted in Nalbari, Rangia and Guwahaiti Medical College Hospitals. (
Watch: "We saw 4 bogies were falling and people were trying to get out")
Eyewitnesses said they heard a huge explosion, following which the train shook violently and derailed. The impact of the blast was such that the coaches behind the engine derailed and flung several metres from the track into a ditch. The explosion left a three feet wide and one feet deep crater.
Initially, the National Democratic Front of Bodoland(NDFB) was suspected to be behind the incident but Adivasi Peoples Army is now the prime suspect. This Adivasi group had claimed responsibility for the attack on Kanchenjungha Express in Guwahati last month.
Helpline Numbers:
0361-2737154/55
2731621/622/623
9957554804