KEY POINTS
- Officials said a passenger train may have jumped the red signal and collided with the second train
- The impact caused some of the coaches of the two trains to derail
- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia of around than $2,400 for the victims’ families
The number of victims killed in a train collision in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh has climbed to 14, while more than 50 others were receiving treatment for injuries.
Railway authorities in India said “human error” was a possible cause for the tragic accident.
The collision took place Sunday evening when the passenger train, Visakhapatnam-Rayagada passenger special, rammed into the Visakhapatnam-Palasa train.
Officials said the train running between Visakhapatnam and Rayagada may have jumped the red signal and collided with the second train, causing some of the coaches to derail.
“The Vishakhapatnam-Palasa train was waiting on the track between Alamanda and Kantakpalli railway stations of the Kothavalasa block when the collision took place,” said Sourabh Prasad, divisional railway manager of the Waltair division.
Hundreds of passengers were affected after railway officials said around 33 trains were cancelled and six others rescheduled, following the accident.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia of around $2,400 (₹200,000) for the families of each of the victims and around $600 (₹50,000) for those injured in the train accident.
Modi spoke to India’s Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw over the Andhra Pradesh train accident, and “took stock of the situation in the wake of the unfortunate train derailment,” an official statement said.
“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,” read a tweet from the Prime Minister’s Office.
Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, chief minister of the state of Andhra Pradesh, visited the injured victims in the hospitals. He also conducted an aerial survey at the train accident site at Kantakapalli, Vizianagaram district Monday.
The incident comes months after another train collision killed at least 261 people and injured about a thousand others in India’s eastern Odisha state. The collision, involving three trains, saw one passenger train derail onto the adjacent track and strike an incoming train. A nearby stationery freight train was also struck. The incident was considered to be the worst train crash in about two decades.
