At least 13 dead and over 50 injured in Andra train crash, ‘human error’ cited as a possible cause of the accident

At least 13 dead and over 50 injured when two passenger trains crashed on Sunday in the Vizianagaram region of Andhra Pradesh. Human error was cited as a possible cause of the accident by India Railways, with the Rayagada-bound train having possibly skipped the signal.

The Chief Public Relations Officer Biswajit Sahu said, "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." However, the Railway official added that further investigations are underway and a more definitive cause of the accident can only be stated after its completion.

The Visakhapatnam-Rayagada passenger special (08504) collided with the Visakhapatnam-Palasa passenger (08532) at approximately 7:10 p.m. The collision caused four bogies from the second train to derail into the next track. “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, the Divisional Railway Manager of the Waltai Division.

Several visuals of the coalition surfaced on various social media platforms that show several mangled coaches littered across the tracks. Rescue and relief measures are underway and the death toll is feared to rise. In lieu of the accident, 18 trains have been canceled and 22 others diverted. The railway tracks are expected to be restored by today evening.

11 out of the 13 dead bodies of the passengers have been identified, said the Vizianagaram district collector S Nagalakshmi. The Railway authorities have confirmed that the deceased include both the loco pilot and assistant loco pilot of the Visakhapatnam- Rayagada passenger train. Those killed in the accident include Kanchubaraki Ravi of Godikommu village of Vizianagaram district; Gidijala Lakshmi of SP Ramachandrapuram village of Srikakulam; Karanam Appalanaidu of Kapusambham village of Vizianagaram; Challa Sathish of Vizianagaram; S M S Rao (loco Pilot) from Visakhapatnam; Chintala Krishnam Naidu (gang man of the train) of Kothavalasa in Vizianagaram; Pilla Nagaraju of Kapusambham village of Vizianagaram; M Srinivas (Palasa passenger guard) of Vizianagaram; Tenkala Sugunamma of Vizianagaram; Reddy Seetham Naidu of Vizianagaram and Majji Ramu of Vizianagaram.


The Vizianagram Government Hospital is currently treating 32 of the injured passengers, amongst them, the condition of 4 persons is said to be critical. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is expected to visit the accident spot later. An ex gratia of ₹10 lakh to the families of the deceased and ₹2 lakh to those injured has been announced by the CM.


Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has stated that PM Modi has reviewed the situation and rescue operations are underway. “Rescue operations are underway. All passengers shifted. PM @narendramodi Ji reviewed the situation. Spoke to the CM of Andhra Pradesh, state govt and railway teams are working in close coordination.” said Vaishnaw, taking to ‘X’.


Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s Office informed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to the Railway Minister and took stock of the situation in the wake of the train derailment between Alamanda and Kantakapalle section. “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.” notified the Prime Minister’s Office in a statement. In addition, the Prime Minister has announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from the PMNRF for the next of kin of each deceased, and the injured would be given Rs. 50,000.


The East Coast Railway has released helpline numbers (Bhubaneswar - 0674-2301625, 2301525, 2303069, and Waltair - 0891-2885914.) Moreover, the war room in the Delhi Railway Ministry is monitoring the situation.


The collision comes months after faulty connections in the automated signaling system caused India's biggest rail disaster in two decades on June 2 in Odisha's Bahanaga Bazar area that killed 288 people and injured over 1,000.