With two freak accidents inside four years, Burdwan station seems to be fast gaining a notoriously ominous tag among daily commuters who avail of this busy junction to travel to various destinations within the state and beyond.

With three unsuspecting passengers dead and at least another 34 injured after a 25,000 liter capacity water tank collapsed on the roof a platform shed which, in turn, crumbled under pressure crushing the commuters waiting underneath it, the incident – alongside some back-to-back train accidents taking place in the recent past – sparked off serious questions on the state of maintenance of railway properties across the country.

The deceased included a woman, a resident of Memari in Burdwan, whose husband and daughter also sustained serious injuries, sources confirmed. The family was headed for Howrah and were waiting for a local train when the tragedy struck. Another victim was a youth traveling to his house in Sahebgunj, Bihar after spending time with his relatives in Burdwan, it was learned.

The injured have been admitted to Burdwan Medical College and Hospital where autopsies of the deceased were also taking place. Till reports last received, no compensation was announced for the dead or injured from any authorities.

In January, 2020, a portion of the main building of the 138-year old heritage station had caved in killing one person and injuring another.

Ironically, Burdwan happens to be among the 1275 stations nationwide included in the Centre's Amrit Bharat Station Scheme launched in Feburary this year to "enhance" and mordernise railway stations throughout the Indian Railways network. 94 of these stations have been earmarked for development in Bengal.

Eastern Railway authorities confirmed that a three-member inquiry committee has been constituted to ascertain the cause of the accident and fix responsibility.

The tank, which eyewitnesses claimed was leaking through its cracks for a while now, crashed with a loud thud minutes after noon bringing down tonnes of steel and corrugated tins on the passengers waiting for the next train on the joint platform numbers 2 and 3. The sound of the crash soon gave way to cries and moans of help from passengers trapped underneath the debris, besides large-scale panic spreading among commuters at the crowded platform who found themselves lucky enough to escape the bizarre tragedy.

The trapped people were rescued by the RPF and GRP officials with help from state civil defense personnel and locals.

Train services at the junction station were impacted and later resumed from platforms 1 and 4 with railways cordoning off the tracks adjacent to platforms 2 and 3 for dismantling the collapsed structure and clearing the debris. The railway personnel were seen using multiple gas cutters to dismantle the mangled shed and

Among the senior railway officials who rushed to the spot and visited the injured at the hospital, Sumit Sarkar, AGM, Eastern Railways, said: “We are awaiting for a list of those with grievous injuries and requiring critical care which we have asked from the hospital authorities. We are ready to shift these patients to railway hospitals in Howrah and Calcutta.”