New Delhi: At least 13 people died and 54 others were injured when two passenger trains collided in Andhra Pradesh’s Vizianagaram district on Sunday. The incident took place at around 7:10 pm when the Visakhapatnam-Rayagada passenger rammed into the Visakhapatnam-Palasa passenger.
The India Railways has cited human error as a possible cause with the Rayagada-bound train having likely jumped the signal. Sourabh Prasad, Divisional Railway Manager of the Waltair Division, said: “The Visakhapatnam-Palasa train was waiting on the track between Alamanda and Kantakapalli railway stations of the Kothavalasa block when the collision took place.”
The accident caused four bogies of the second train to derail onto the adjacent track. Videos shared on social media showed multiple mangled coaches in pitch-dark conditions.
Vizianagaram District Collector S Nagalakshmi said that of the 13 passengers, 11 have been identified so far. According to Railways officials, the deceased include both the loco pilot and assistant loco pilot of the Visakhapatnam- Rayagada passenger train.
Railway officials have said that the incident appears to have caused due to a human error as the Vishakhapatnam train did not stop even when the signal was red. Among those injured, 32 are undergoing treatment at the Vizianagaram Government Hospital. The condition of four persons is said to be serious.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has announced an ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh to the families of those killed and Rs 2 lakh to those injured. Railways Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw and Chairman of the Railway Board (CRB) Jaya Varma Sinha have been monitoring the situation from Delhi.
In a post on the social media platform X, Vaishnaw said other than the derailed coaches, 20 others have been pulled back. Vaishnaw has also announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 10 Lakh for the families of those killed, Rs. 2.5 Lakh to those seriously hurt and Rs. 50,000 to those who sustained minor injuries.
The crash came months after faulty connections in the automated signalling system led to India’s worst rail disaster in two decades on June 2 and left 288 people dead and over 1,000 injured in Odisha’s Bahanaga Bazar. A passenger train hit a stationary freight train before jumping off the tracks and hitting another passenger train in the opposite direction.
