State Minister for Railways Habibur Rashid Habib has said that action will be taken against the accused in the train collision that killed 12 bus passengers at the Paduarbazar level crossing in Comilla.

At the same time, he announced assistance of Tk1 lakh to each family of the deceased. The two gatemen in charge of the incident have been temporarily suspended.

The state minister said: "The government is thinking of replacing the analog system with digital rail gates. The unsecured rail gates will be repaired quickly. In addition, three investigation committees have been formed by the Railways and the district administration to investigate the cause of the accident."

Earlier, divisional railway manager (DRM) of the Railway Eastern Region (Chittagong) Division Mostafizur Rahman Bhuiyan said that three investigation committees have been formed by the Railways and necessary action will be taken if the investigation proves responsibility.

The investigation report will be published within three working days, he added.

Comilla Deputy Commissioner Md. Reza Hasan said, "The district administration has also formed an investigation committee and the committee has been instructed to submit a report within three working days. The district administration will provide a grant of Tk 25,000 to the families of the deceased."

The accident occurred at the Paduarbazar level crossing on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway early Saturday morning, on the day of Eid-ul-Fitr.

While the Dhaka Mail train from Chittagong was crossing the crossing, a bus of the Lakshmipur-bound Mamun Special transport from Chuadanga climbed onto the railway line and collided.

Eyewitnesses said that the gate of the crossing was not completely lowered. The bus quickly climbed onto the line and collided with the train immediately.

Of the injured in the accident, 8 are currently undergoing treatment at the hospital.

In addition, 18 more have been discharged from the hospital after receiving primary treatment.

According to Comilla Medical College Hospital sources, the condition of some of them is critical.

Relatives of the injured expressed anger over the incident, saying that such an accident could have been avoided if proper safety measures had been in place at the crossing.

They demanded exemplary punishment for those responsible.

FP/A