Just four days after the triple-train crash near Balasore in Odisha under the South Eastern Railway, another rail mishap was averted on Tuesday evening under the same railway zone on the Jharkhand-Bengal border.

According to railway officials, a tractor crashed into the Santaldih railway crossing on the Bhojudih-Santaldih section under the Adra division of the South Eastern Railway even as the gateman at the railway crossing was trying to close the gate leading to a portion of the tractor colliding with a coach of the New Delhi-Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express.

“The timely reaction from the driver of the New Delhi- Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express, who applied emergency brakes, averted any major mishap even as a portion of the tractor got stuck in one of the coaches of the train. The incident took place around 5pm and the train left for Bhubaneswar after 40 minutes,” said a railway official preferring anonymity.

Santhaldih falls under Bengal’s Purulia district, while the Bhojudih section falls under Jharkhand’s Bokaro district.

Adra divisional railway manager (DRM) Manish Kumar said: “A tractor crashed into the railway gate when it was closing at the Santaldih railway crossing. However, the driver of the train applied the brakes and the train stopped, averting any major accident.”

He said that the driver of the tractor fled from the spot immediately after the incident.

“The RPF personnel and railway workers rushed to the spot and removed the tractor from the site. The train was stationary at the site for over 40 minutes. The RPF has lodged an FIR against the tractor owner after seizing the tractor and the gateman was immediately suspended for negligence in not closing down the gate in time,” the DRM added.

Senior divisional commercial manager of the Adra division, Vikash Kumar, said that a four-member committee comprising senior officials in the junior administrative grade would also be probing into the incident.