Photo: BSS

HABIGANJ, April 2, 2026 (BSS) - Rail communication between Sylhet and the rest of the country resumed this afternoon after an 18-hour suspension caused by the derailment of a fuel-laden train near Mantala Railway Station in Madhabpur upazila.

The derailed bogies were cleared and the damaged track repaired by 4 pm, restoring normal train movement on the route, confirmed Mantala Station Master Ataur Rahman Khadem.

The train, carrying diesel from Chattogram to Sylhet, derailed around 9:30 pm on Wednesday. At least four bogies overturned beside the tracks, while one plunged into a nearby canal, disrupting rail services nationwide on the Sylhet route.

Rescue operations began shortly after midnight when a relief train arrived from Akhaura. However, recovery efforts were hampered as one of the bogies had fallen beneath a bridge, complicating clearance work.

Following the accident, some local residents attempted to collect spilled fuel, but members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), police and army personnel intervened to prevent looting and maintain order.

Habiganj-55 BGB Acting Commander Syed Ishtiaq Morshed said around 1,000 litres of diesel were recovered and preserved in drums and containers, helping to minimise losses.

Dhaka Divisional Manager of Bangladesh Railway ABM Kamruzzaman said a five-member probe committee has been formed to investigate the cause of the derailment. The committee has been asked to submit its report within three days.

Officials said each affected bogie was carrying about 39,000 litres of diesel, with an estimated 5 to 30 percent of the fuel lost due to the accident.