Train communication between Sylhet and the rest of Bangladesh has been suspended after a fuel-laden oil tanker train derailed near Montola Railway Station in Madhabpur upazila of Habiganj on Wednesday night.
The accident occurred around 9:30pm when the Chittagong-bound train, carrying diesel, went off the tracks, leaving at least six wagons derailed.
Railway officials said the train, consisting of 16 wagons, was heading towards Sylhet from Chittagong when the incident occurred. Five oil tanker wagons derailed, while one plunged from a rail bridge into a nearby canal. Nearly 500 metres of railway track were also severely twisted and damaged.
Following the incident, diesel began leaking from the tankers, prompting locals to rush to the scene with pots, buckets and other containers to collect fuel.
Police, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and Bangladesh Army personnel later arrived and brought the situation under control.
A relief train from Akhaura reached the site around midnight, and rescue operations began at 1am on Thursday. However, even 12 hours after the accident, recovery work was still ongoing.
Eyewitness Shafiqul Islam Dalim, a local kindergarten director, said a loud noise was heard before multiple wagons derailed. “People rushed to collect the leaking fuel before law enforcement intervened,” he said.
Another resident, Saiful, said locals scrambled to collect diesel using whatever containers they had before authorities restored order.
Railway Manager ABM Kamruzzaman said a five-member probe committee, led by Divisional Transport Officer Md Mehedi Hasan, has been formed to investigate the cause of the accident. The committee has been asked to submit its report within three working days.
“Preliminary investigation is considering factors such as train speed and possible track faults. Detailed findings will be known after the probe,” he said.
He added that the train was carrying around 200,000 litres of diesel, of which an estimated 20 to 30% was lost.
Railway authorities expect train movement to return to normal by the afternoon.
Due to the accident, the Sylhet-Dhaka-bound Upaban Express, Sylhet-Chittagong-bound Udayan Express, and Chittagong-Sylhet-bound Paharika Express services have been cancelled.