The toll in the collision of a passenger train with a goods train near the Bilaspur railway station in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday rose to 11, ANI reported on Wednesday, quoting the South East Central Railway. Twenty persons were also injured in the accident.

Two to three persons remain stuck in the wreckage and authorities were cutting open the train coach to rescue them, The Indian Express reported.

The accident had occurred at about 4 pm while the Mainline Electric Multiple Unit passenger train, typically used for short distances, was travelling to Bilaspur from Gevra Road in the neighbouring Korba district.

Bilaspur Collector Sanjay Agrawal told The Indian Express that the last coach of the goods train dashed into the first coach of the passenger.

Bilaspur Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Suskar Vipul Vilasrao said that one train running behind another on the same track was part of normal operations, The Hindu reported.

However, the exact reason for the collision could be established only after an inquiry by the commissioner of railway safety, he added.

Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the families of those who died, ANI reported. “The injured will be given free treatment, and Rs 50,000 will also be given to them,” he added.

The South East Central Railway said that an investigation will be conducted at the level of the commissioner of railway safety and corrective steps will be taken.

It announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the families of those who died. Seriously injured passengers will receive Rs 5 lakh and those with minor injuries will receive Rs 1 lakh.

Chhattisgarh’s former Chief Minister and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel described the accident as “very tragic”, alleging that the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state was more focused on transporting coal than ensuring public safety, ANI reported.

“Today, the value of human life has become even less than coal,” the news agency quoted him as saying.

Congress leader and former Deputy Chief Minister TS Singh Deo demanded the resignation of Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, saying that the incident was due to “extreme negligence”, ANI reported.

“Continuous reports come from different regions in the country about accidents in the railway department, and people keep dying in these accidents,” the news agency quoted Deo as saying.

“We offer condolences to those who lost their lives in the Bilaspur accident and offer solace to their families,” the Congress leader added. “The railway minister should now resign on moral grounds. This laxity is the reason that such an accident could happen.”

Krishna Murty Bandhi, a BJP leader and a former state minister, also questioned how the goods train and the passenger train were on the same line, The Hindu reported.

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