Coimbatore: Hundreds of passengers miraculously escaped unhurt after a special train bound for Pune from Tirunelveli derailed near Pollachi on Tuesday night. More than 100 railway workers are involved in restoring the track resuming normal train services.

Railway sources said on Wednesday that seven coaches of Tirunelveli-Pune summer special train derailed late on Tuesday night after a huge tree fell on the train near Meenakshipuram near Pollachi.

According to an official from the Palakkad railway division, the summer special from Tirunelveli junction that left there at 9:30 am on Tuesday, had left Pollachi around 10 pm last night and was heading towards Palakkad when the mishap occurred.

A huge tree estimated to be around 300-years-old, close to the railway track broke into two following heavy wind, one piece falling on the track and other on top of the loco.

Under the impact, besides severe damage to the loco, the first seven coaches and the loco were derailed. Passengers turned panic and raised an alarm, but luckily the loco driver slowed down and managed to stop the train.

The official said that luckily no casualties are severe injuries were reported.

The remaining 11 coaches were attached to few additional coaches taken from Palakkad, passengers were shifted and the train diverted via Dindigul, Karur and Erode using another loco. A derail special and a medical team from Shornur were summoned for rescue operations at the accident site. More than 100 workers are involved since Tuesday night, repairing the damaged track and the loco. The train operation between Palakkad and Pollachi has been temporarily cancelled.