Howrah-bound Falaknuma Express averted a major accident on Tuesday when a damaged coupling resulted in two coaches getting detached from the rest of the train.

Although no one was injured, hundreds of passengers were left stranded for more than two hours near Palasa in the Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh till railway technicians managed to reattach the detached bogies to the train.

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The incident took place after 7 am between the Summadevi and Mandasa railway stations of the Khurda Road Division of East Coast Railway.

Realizing that something was amiss, the driver of the Howrah-bound train managed to halt the train at the spot immediately.

The incident triggered panic among the passengers who thought the bogies had derailed after experiencing a massive jerk.

The railway technicians reached the spot and managed to reattach coaches A-1 and M-6 and brought the train to Mandasa for a thorough check. The running of quite a few trains between Visakhapatnam and Berhampur was affected since one side of the track was blocked.

The railway authorities have ordered an inquiry into the mechanical failure that resulted in the bogies getting separated from the rest of the train.