Patna: In a freak incident, one person was killed and two others suffered serious injuries when a portion of the railway track pierced into a compartment of the Hatia-Gorakhpur Maurya Express near Kiul railway station of the East Central Railway in Lakhisarai district on Saturday.

The injured - Mukesh Kumar and Tridev Sah - have been admitted to the Lakhisarai sadar hospitalA passenger, who introduced himself as for safety."

Another passenger, Rishidev (32), a resident of Barahiya in Lakhisarai, said he heard a loud explosion in the compartment. "The train came to a halt with a jerk. The passengers travelling on the upper berth fell on the floor and suffered injuries in the process."

The accident occurred when a 10m railway track pierced into the general compartment. The railway authorities didn't rule out "sabotage" and ordered an inquiry into the incident, which took place around 3.30am near Mahesh Beta halt, about 1km away from Kiul railway station, soon after the train crossed Bansipur railway station.

The chief public relations officer (CPRO) of the East Central Railway, Rajesh Kumar, said a video footage showed a 10-metre-long piece of railway track inside a general bogie. Three persons were struck by the huge piece of metal, leading to the death of one and injury of two others.

The CPRO said the injured were later referred to the Patna Medical College and Hospital for better treatment. "The relatives of the injured were exerting pressure on the railway officials to refer them to the PMCH," he said.

Rajesh said the incident was unusual and the possibility of a sabotage couldn't be ruled out. "The site of occurrence is considered to be a hotbed of Maoists. Moreover, it is very difficult for a piece of metal, weighing about 600kg to fly over 2m above the ground level," he said.