By IANS,
Chennai : Passengers of two trains had a narrow escape when a blast, blamed on critics of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, destroyed three feet of rail track in Tamil Nadu early Saturday.
The Salem Express felt a huge jerk while crossing Sithanai village in Villupuram district around 2.20 a.m., forcing the guard to contact station masters of the Perani and Mundiambakkam railway stations.
“The blast damaged three feet of track and caused a four-feet crater,” a police officer told IANS.
Villupuram Deputy Inspector General of Police E. Ma. Masanamuthu told IANS that the railway control centre in Chennai immediately alerted the Rockfort Express that was approaching the spot.
The incident took place in a rural area around 160 km from here.
“Proceeding cautiously, the Rockfort Express driver stopped the train on seeing a big gap on the tracks, saving hundreds of lives,” Masanamuthu added.
The Chennai-bound Rockfort Express from Tiruchirappali halted about 200 feet from the spot.
Neither train suffered any damage and no one was hurt.
According to Masanamuthu, the police recovered a paper stating that the blast was carried out to protest against the June 8-11 visit of Rajapaksa, who made his first trip to India after the destruction of the Tamil Tigers last year.
His visit ran into vocal opposition from many in Tamil Nadu. “We have formed four police teams to investigate the case,” the officer said.
Train services were disrupted in the area for some hours, resuming once the track was set right at 9 a.m.