Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) : Track restoration works are taken up on war footing at the the Vizianagaram train accident spot today. AP Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy is going to visit the site, sources said. Death toll in the Vizianagaram train accident rose to 14 while over 100 others were injured, sources said. Some of them sustained critical injuries with the death toll expected to increase. The accident took place between Kantakapalle and Alamanda in Kothavalasa mandal in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh at 7 pm on Sunday night.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on X that 11 coaches from front of Visakhapatnam - Palasa train reached the nearby Alamanda station. Visakhapatnam - Rayagada train rear 9 coaches were pulled back to the previous station, Kantakapalle. Other than the derailed and affected coaches, all cleared from the site, he said.
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Train Accident between Alamanda and Kantakapalle Stations in Vizianagaram-Kottavalasa Rly section of Waltair Division of ECoR in Howrah-Chennai Main Line. @RailMinIndia
— East Coast Railway (@EastCoastRail) October 29, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
Helpline Numbers ...👇👇👇 pic.twitter.com/ahAgX4Kohd
">Train Accident between Alamanda and Kantakapalle Stations in Vizianagaram-Kottavalasa Rly section of Waltair Division of ECoR in Howrah-Chennai Main Line. @RailMinIndia
— East Coast Railway (@EastCoastRail) October 29, 2023
Helpline Numbers ...👇👇👇 pic.twitter.com/ahAgX4KohdTrain Accident between Alamanda and Kantakapalle Stations in Vizianagaram-Kottavalasa Rly section of Waltair Division of ECoR in Howrah-Chennai Main Line. @RailMinIndia
— East Coast Railway (@EastCoastRail) October 29, 2023
Helpline Numbers ...👇👇👇 pic.twitter.com/ahAgX4Kohd
Congress president Mallikharjun Kharge said that he was extremely saddened to learn about the train derailment tragedy in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh, where precious lives have been lost and several people have suffered injuries. "Our deepest condolences to the families of the bereaved. It seems that all the claims of safety by the Union Govt, post Balasore train tragedy have evaporated in thin air," Kharge said in a post on X.
The overshooting of the signal by Rayagada train, which did not at the red signal, could have resulted in the accident and further enquiry was going on, said East Coast Railway (ECoR). It opened helplines to assist in the rescue operations.
The Visakhapatnam-Palasa (08532) train which started from Visakhapatnam towards Vizianagaram was hit by the Visakhapatnam-Rayagada (08504) train which started a few minutes from behind. Due to this accident, the bogies of the Rayagada train were crushed and some others derailed.
The derailed bogies hit the wagons of a goods train on another track. It has caused greater damage. The rescue operations were severely hampered due to darkness. Between Kantakapalli and Alamanda, the Palasa passenger train slowed to a signal and stopped on the track at 848 km. At that time, the passengers said that they were hit by a Rayagada train coming from behind. It is noteworthy that this passenger train accident took place similar to the Balasore train accident in Odisha in June this year.
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11 coaches from front of 08532 Visakhapatnam - Palasa reached next Alamanda station. Train 08504 Visakhapatnam - Rayagada rear 9 coaches pulled back to the previous station, Kantakapalle.
— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) October 29, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
Other than the derailed and affected coaches, all cleared from the site.
">11 coaches from front of 08532 Visakhapatnam - Palasa reached next Alamanda station. Train 08504 Visakhapatnam - Rayagada rear 9 coaches pulled back to the previous station, Kantakapalle.
— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) October 29, 2023
Other than the derailed and affected coaches, all cleared from the site.11 coaches from front of 08532 Visakhapatnam - Palasa reached next Alamanda station. Train 08504 Visakhapatnam - Rayagada rear 9 coaches pulled back to the previous station, Kantakapalle.
— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) October 29, 2023
Other than the derailed and affected coaches, all cleared from the site.
The Palasa guard bogie collided with the Rayagada engine and both were crushed. At this speed, the Rayagada bogies rammed into the engine of the same train. At the same time, a goods train is passing by. Seven bogies of two passenger and goods trains were crushed. As two bogies of the Palasa train ran into the tanker goods, the tracks rose up and the train ran upside down under it, reflecting the severity of the accident. The three bogies of the Rayagada train hit the engine from behind and collided with the nearby coal freight train. The disabled carriage of the Visakha-Rayagada train derailed and fell into the fields. The D-1 bogie behind it broke some speed and lifted off. Providing relief at the scene has become a challenge.
About 1400 passengers were travelling in the Palasa and Rayagada passenger trains at the time of accident. According to the estimates of the personnel involved in relief operations in the incident area, the death toll is about 40-50. About 10 dead bodies were recovered till midnight. It seems that the number of dead is likely to increase as the bogies carrying passengers were twisted out of shape and split in two.
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The guard MS Rao, who was leaning against the rear bogie of the Palasa train, and the loco pilots who were in the engine of the Rayagada train were killed. As the accident site is more than 5 km away from the Vizianagaram-Kottavalasa main road, all kinds of relief efforts are becoming difficult. NDRF and SDRF teams have taken up war-like assistance.
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Extremely saddened to learn about the train derailment tragedy in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh, where precious lives have been lost and several people have suffered injuries.
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) October 30, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
Our deepest condolences to the families of the bereaved. We pray for the speedy recovery of…
">Extremely saddened to learn about the train derailment tragedy in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh, where precious lives have been lost and several people have suffered injuries.
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) October 30, 2023
Our deepest condolences to the families of the bereaved. We pray for the speedy recovery of…Extremely saddened to learn about the train derailment tragedy in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh, where precious lives have been lost and several people have suffered injuries.
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) October 30, 2023
Our deepest condolences to the families of the bereaved. We pray for the speedy recovery of…
The injured were shifted to KGH, Visakhapatnam, and the slightly injured to Vizianagaram Government Hospital. Minister Botsa Satyanarayana, Vizianagaram Collector Nagalakshmi and SP Deepika visited the spot.
Cancellation of many trains today
In the wake of the train accident, the railway authorities have announced that many trains have been canceled on Monday as well. Korba-Visakhapatnam, Paradeep-Visakhapatnam, Rayagada-Visakhapatnam, Palasa-Visakhapatnam, Visakhapatnam-Gunupur, Gunupur-Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram-Visakhapatnam trains have been cancelled.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the loss of life in the accident. Deepest condolences to the families of the deceased. Wishing the injured a speedy recovery. He announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the families of the deceased and Rs 50 thousand to the injured. The Prime Minister's Office revealed that he spoke to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav and got the details. Ashwini Vaishnav said in 'X' that all passengers were evacuated from the accident site. He explained that the Prime Minister also spoke to AP Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy and the railway teams are working in coordination.
AP CM Jagan Mohan Reddy expressed shock over the train accident. The officials were ordered to intensify the relief measures. CM Jagan announced a compensation of Rs. 10 lakhs to the families of AP who died in the train accident and Rs. 2 lakhs to those seriously injured. The officials were ordered to give Rs.2 lakhs in case of death to other states and Rs.50,000 to those seriously injured.
