A 15-minute viral audio clip of 2 railway employees points to laxity

AS THE AUTHORITIES probed the reason for the crash, an unverified telephonic conversation apparently between two railway employees widely circulated on social media on Sunday hinted that “negligence” may have caused the accident.

The nearly 15-minute audio clip could not be verified independently. Jamshed said they were looking into it. One of the men in the audio clip apparently posted at a crossing near the accident site says “poor patrolling” on the track where maintenance work was under way was one of the causes.

“Welding work was under way at a section of the railway track... but the workers did not fix the block of the track and left it loose. Gates near the crossing were closed. A piece (of the track) was not fixed and when the Utkal Express arrived, 14 of its coaches got derailed,” one of the railway employees is heard saying.

“Neither the line, on which the work was under way, was fixed nor they had put any flag or a signboard (as a stop signal). The accident occurred due to negligence. It seems all (concerned employees) will be suspended,” he says.

The other replies that heads will roll and all including “junior engineer and other officials” were likely to face action. They also tell each other that the workers had left some equipment between the tracks after finishing their work. “At least they could have removed the machine and put a red flag there, perhaps the tragedy could have been averted.” —