One dead in train-truck collision in Khulna, rail services suspended

Train operations between Khulna and the rest of the country have been disrupted following the accident

One person has died and several others injured after a train crashed into a stalled truck on a level crossing in Khulna.

Authorities said three carriages of the train derailed in the accident, halting rail services between Khulna and the rest of the country.

The incident occurred around 8:15pm on Monday in the Afil Gate area under Khanjahan Ali Police Station, according to Khulna Railway Station Master Zakir Hossain.

He said the crash occurred when the Mahananda Express, heading to Khulna from Chapainawabganj, collided with the truck.

Several casualties have been reported. A rescue train has been dispatched to the site, he added.

Khulna Railway Police Station chief Ferdous Alam Khan said the down Mahananda Express was approaching Khulna when the truck broke down on the tracks, leading to the collision. The gateman, identified by a single name as Ohedul, fled the scene.

Khanjahan Ali police chief Kabir Hossain said the truck had entered the bypass road rail crossing at Afil Gate and broke down. The incoming train from Khulna hit the vehicle and dragged it a distance.

Confirming that three coaches of the train were derailed, he added that many passengers on board sustained injuries.

He said an elderly man who was injured later died at the hospital.

His identity has not been confirmed. Locals rescued and took him to Khulna Medical College Hospital, Kabir added.

Dr Ashraf Hossain, an emergency physician at the hospital, told bdnews24.com around 11pm that eight injured individuals had been admitted. Among them, a man estimated to be a sexagenarian died.