Toll rises to 14; initial probe points finger at Rayagada train crew

Visakhapatnam: The death toll rose to 14 and the number of injured stood at 50 in the train accident on the Howrah-Chennai line in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh, Joint Collector Mayur Ashok said on Monday.

“Thirteen died at the accident site itself and one succumbed while undergoing treatment,” Ashok said.

Superintendent of Police M Deepika said 50 people were injured.

A senior Railway official said the injured had been shifted to hospitals in Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram.

The guard of the Palasa Passenger M S Rao (58) died in the accident, along with the loco pilot, S M S Rao (52), and his assistant, Chiranjeevi (29), of the Rayagada Passenger train.

Waltair Divisional Railway Manager Saurabh Prasad of the East Coast Railway Zone (ECR) confirmed the death of the guard.

Meanwhile, a preliminary railway probe into the accident has held the driver and the assistant driver of Rayagada Passenger train responsible for the collision as it passed two defective auto signals violating norms. Both crew members were killed in the accident.

The report said that seven experts, who have signed it, carefully examined the accident site, available evidence, statements of officials concerned, data logger report and the speedometer chart.

It concluded that the Rayagada passenger train (08504) hit the Visakhapatnam Palasa passenger train (08532), which was running at a restricted speed, from the rear due to the crew of the former passing two defective auto signals.

“Hence, LP (loco pilot), S M S Rao, ALP (Assistant Loco Pilot) of Train no 08504 (Rayagada Passenger train) held responsible,” the report said.

According to the railway norms, the train should have stopped for two minutes at the defective auto signals and then started at 10 kmph which it didn’t do, leading to the collision, the report said.

It said there were two defective auto signals between the Kantakapalli-Alamanda (kpl-alm) section where the collision took place. The Visakhapatnam Palasa passenger train stopped at both the signals and then was proceeding at the restricted speed of 10 km per hour.

However, the Rayagada passenger train didn’t follow these norms at both the defective signal and collided with the first train running with restricted speed, according to the initial report.

Officials of the East Coast Railway (ECR) said at around 7 pm on Sunday, the Palasa Passenger train hit the Rayagada Passenger train from behind at Kantakapalli, about 40 km from here, causing three coaches to derail.

Prasad said that all the affected coaches have been looked into and the locomotive was being lifted to see for a final round of checking by the NDRF if any bodies are still trapped inside the coaches or the locomotive or in the mangled mess.

Five coaches plus the locomotive got mangled. Three coaches were of the train which was ahead (Palasa Passenger) and two coaches and the engine were of the Rayagada passenger, the DRM said.

He noted the clearance of tracks is also underway. As part of the clearance work, Prasad said two coaches were taken away and the third coach is also being tackled presently.

Expressing shock over the incident, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy instructed officials to pay an ex-gratia amount of Rs 10 lakh each to the kin of the deceased and Rs 2 lakh each to the injured from the state.

He also announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each for the injured from other states, according to an official release. The ECR has set up helplines. WITH AGENCIES INPUTS