Guwahati: A major tragedy was averted on late Sunday when two powerful bombs exploded on a rail track in Assam a few minutes before a crowded passenger train was to cross the blast sites, officials said.
A police spokesman said the first explosion took place around 2230 hrs IST near Nilalong, close to Diphu, the headquarters of Karbi Anglong district, about 320 km east of Assam's main city of Guwahati.
"It was a narrow miss for the Kamrup Express," a senior police official said.
There was another explosion a few kilometres ahead of Nilalong.
The two explosions took place at the locations about 10 km apart - both on the rail track.
"The explosions were near simultaneous and took place a few minutes before the Kamrup Express was scheduled to cross the blast sites," the official added.
"The rail track is completely blown away and there are huge craters with the Kamrup Express now stranded," a railway official said.
"Rail links within the state would remain snapped until Monday."
The Kamrup Express was on way from Guwahati to Dibrugarh in eastern Assam carrying out 600 passengers.
Police said militants fired at the train when it slowed down after the second blast.
"There were no casualties in the firing," the official said.
Police blamed the Karbi Longri National Liberation Front (KLNLF), a rebel group fighting for an independent homeland for the majority Karbi tribe, for the attack.
This is the third attack on trains in Assam in the past three days.
On Friday, a trooper was killed and 17 injured when tribal militants attacked the Barak Valley Express in the adjoining North Cachar Hills district, while two security personnel were gunned down and 13 injured in a similar attack on a goods train in the same district on Saturday.
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