A train collided with a truck at a railway level crossing in Jessore, as the gateman did not receive the train's arrival message due to a disruption of the mobile phone network.
The incident took place at around 11:45am in the district's Abhaynagar upazila on Thursday.
Fortunately, no one was injured in the accident. The truck driver and his assistant managed to jump from the vehicle.
According to the police, and witnesses, the Rajshahi-bound Sagardari Express train was crossing the Bhanga railway crossing when the truck from Jessore also attempted to cross the same junction, as the gate was open.
The driver of the truck, Shumon Hossain, 25, and his assistant managed to jump off of the vehicle and save themselves.
However, the front part of the truck was completely wrecked, said Nawapara highway police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Hamid Uddin Ahmed.
The OC said the passengers of the train narrowly escaped the accident.
In this regard, Jessore railway's Senior Assistant Engineer Mahbub Hasan said messages are exchanged from one level crossing gateman to another through the Grameenphone's network. “But at that time there was a network disruption. That is why gateman did not get the message.”
He added the gateman attempted to close the gate when he spotted the train approaching, but the truck had already started crossing the tracks.
Due to the crash, a gridlock was reported on the Jessore-Khulna Highway, till the truck was moved from the railway crossing.
