Kolkata, Jun 7 (IANS): The Delhi-Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express had a narrow escape after it brushed past a tractor-loaded with diesel barrels, which had got stuck on the tracks close to a manned-railway crossing near the Santaldih station, in West Bengal's Purulia district.

The incident happened on Tuesday evening. The driver of Rajdhani Express noticed the tractor from a distance and he immediately slowed down the speed of the train, However, the sides of two compartments behind the engine somehow brushed past the body of the tractor.

Following the development, the train was delayed by around 45 minutes. The divisional railways manager (Adra division), Manish Kumar informed the media persons that no report of damage has been reported. However, railways sources said that the gateman of the manned level crossing has been suspended and a departmental probe initiated in the matter.

The train was going from New Delhi to Bhubaneswar. Since Santaldih station was not a scheduled stop, the train was at a high speed. But it was the alertness of the driver of the train that helped avert a major mishap. Had he not noticed the tractor and slowed down the speed another major accident could have happened just four days after the triple train tragedy in Odisha's Balasore district in which 278 lives were lost and over 1,000 injured.