The railway operations were resumed soon after the portion of the damaged track was repaired.
(Representative Image: News18)
The boy signalled the loco-pilot, helping him to apply the emergency brake immediately and stop the train just in time near the Bhaluka road yard
A train accident in West Bengal’s Malda district was averted by a 12-year-old boy after he waved his red shirt to a passenger train towards a damaged track on Thursday, as per officials.
The boy identified as Mursalin Seikh signalled the loco-pilot which helped him to apply the emergency brake immediately and stop the train just in time near the Bhaluka road yard.
In a statement, Chief Public Relations Officer of Northeast Frontier Railway Sabyasachi De said, ”A 12-year-old boy in Malda has defined bravery after he waved his red shirt to make the loco-pilot of a speeding passenger train stop the train from crossing a rain damaged portion”.
He further said that the porion was damaged at a location where the rain washed away the soil and the pebbles.
De further said that the boy is a son of a migrant labour of the nearby village and was present in the yard along with the railway staff. He added that the boy took a sensible action on noticing a rain-damaged portion under the tracks and alerted the loco pilot of the approaching train by waving his red shirt along with the other railway staff who were on duty.
Seikh was rewarded with a certificate and cash award for his courage by the Northeast Frontier Railways on Monday. “Malda North MP Khagen Murmu along with Divisional Railway Manager of Katihar Shri Surendra Kumar reached the boy’s home and rewarded him and appreciated his effort. NFR salutes the boy’s approach towards society being a teenager”, De said.
Officials informed that the railway operations were resumed soon after the portion of the damaged track was repaired.
Earlier this year, a major train accident was averted at Jharkhand’s Bokaro after a tractor crashed the railway gate near the Santhaldih railway crossing when the New Delhi-Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express (train no. 22812) was passing from there.
The incident occurred near the Bhojudih railway station, and the tractor got stuck between the railway track and the gate.
(with PTI inputs)
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)
