Railway employee killed while crossing tracks in Koderma

Koderma: A railway employee died after being hit by a goods train at Hirodih station on the Dhanbad-Koderma railway section on Tuesday. Manoj Kumar (51) was a senior train manager (a post formerly known as guard) was crossing the railway tracks at the time of the accident, officials said. Kumar was a resident of Jalalpur in Bihar's Gaya district. He had been residing with his family on Gandhi School Road under Tilaiya police station limits here. Kumar had arrived at Hirodih station from Koderma and was preparing to pilot a coal-laden rake to the Banajhedih power plant in Jainagar block of the district. Standard safety protocols required him to collect a caution order from the station office before the train could depart. Kumar was crossing the railway track to reach the train assigned to him when a goods train passing through the loop line hit him. "It appears that he failed to notice the approaching train in time and move to safety. The impact left him with severe injuries, causing him to collapse instantly on the tracks," said a railway staff. He was transported to Koderma station aboard the very goods train that struck him, but despite being rushed to the railway hospital, doctors declared him brought dead upon arrival. "The Government Railway Police (GRP) in Koderma has officially registered a case of unnatural death and a formal investigation is underway to determine the exact circumstances leading to the tragedy," said Upendra Kumar, officer in-charge of GRP Koderma, said.