At least 13 people and 40 were injured in the accident.
New Delhi:
The train collision in Andhra Pradesh was caused after one of the drivers overshot a signal, a senior railway official said. At least 13 people and 40 were injured when the Palasa passenger train hit the Rayagada passenger train from behind at Kantakapalli, about 40 Km from Visakhapatnam.
Speaking to NDTV, an East Coast Railway official said that the accident was caused by a human error as the driver of the Rayagada train missed a red signal.
“The driver of the Visakhapatnam-Rayagada passenger train was responsible for the accident, as he overshot a signal and hit the rear end of the Palasa train. The driver of the Rayagada train was also killed in the accident,” says Biswajit Sahu, Chief Public Relations Officer at East Coast Railways.
“Investigation is still on and the picture will be clearer only after that,” he added.
Relief and rescue operations on the track are likely to be completed by today evening.
So far, 18 trains have been cancelled and 22 others diverted due to the collision.
Expressing shock over the incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Rs 2 lakh assistance for the families of those who died in the accident and Rs 50,000 for the injured.
“Authorities are providing all possible assistance to those affected. The Prime Minister extends condolences to the bereaved families and prays that the injured recover soon,” the Prime Minister’s office said on X (formerly Twitter).
India, which has the world’s largest rail network, has seen several disasters over the years. In June, a horrific accident involving three trains killed over 280 passengers in Odisha. The Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, and a goods train were involved in the accident on June 2 near the Bahanaga Bazar station.