According to the Brahmanbaria Railway Station and police, three compartments of Dhaka-bound Joyantika Express went off the track at about 1:35pm. Earlier at about 1.30pm, the train reached Brahmanbaria from Sylhet.

One person died on the spot while the other one succumbed to his injuries at Brahmanbaria Sadar Hospital.

Of the injured, eight people were admitted to Brahmanbaria Sadar Hospital in critical condition. They were Antar, 7, Rifat, 9, Mizan, 48, Iakub Ali, 65, Janera Begum, 60, her husband Jabbar Mia, 70, and Hena Begum, 40, and an unidentified man aged about 30. The rest were released after first aid at the Sadar hospital and two local clinics.

A salvage crane from Akhaura Railway Junction rushed to the spot immediately and cleared the compartments off the tracks. The reason for the derailment, however, could not be known till yesterday.

In separate incidents, two trains escaped accidents on Sunday morning in northern districts.

Eyewitnesses and railway police said rail workers noticed some nuts and bolts and clips missing from the Parbatipur-Panchagarh rail tracks at Kamarpara of Parbatipur upazila at about 8:30am Sunday. Shortly afterwards, they waving a red flag signalled Thakurgaon-bound Kanchan Express to stop. Train service on that line was suspended for about four hours.

In another incident, Dhaka-bound Sundarban Express from Iswardi managed to avert derailment near Iswardi Bypass Rail Station in the early hours of Sunday. It stopped as locals forbade it to move by raising their hands.

Officials said miscreants had removed three sleepers and other fittings from the rail tracks.