A tragic incident unfolded in Vizianagaram district, leaving a devastating impact on the lives of many. On a fateful Last night at 7 pm, a horrifying train accident occurred between Kantakapalli-Alamanda in Kothavalasa mandal. The collision between two trains on the track claimed the lives of 14 individuals, causing immense sorrow and grief. This unfortunate incident has brought to light the urgent need for improved safety measures and vigilance in our railway systems.
A tragic train accident occurred in the Vizianagaram district, resulting in the loss of 14 lives. The accident took place between Kantakapalli-Alamanda in Kothavalasa mandal on Sunday night. At approximately 7 o’clock, a train collided with another train from behind on the track. Authorities have confirmed that 33 people were injured, but the number of injured individuals is estimated to be over 100 based on the scene’s conditions. The incident involved the Visakhapatnam-Palasa (08532) train, which was hit by the Visakhapatnam-Rayagada (08504) train shortly after departing from Visakhapatnam towards Vizianagaram. As a result of the collision, the bogies of the Rayagada train were crushed, and some derailed. During the collision, the bogies of the goods train on another track were also impacted, further complicating the situation. The rescue operations faced significant difficulties due to the darkness. The Palasa passenger train, while approaching Kantakapalli-Alamanda, slowed down and stopped on the track at 848 km, awaiting a signal. At this time, passengers reported being hit by the Rayagada train coming from behind. Notably, this incident bears similarities to the Baleshwar train accident that occurred in June of this year. The guard bogie of the Palasa train collided with the Rayagada engine, resulting in both being crushed. The Rayagada bogies then collided with the engine of the same train at high speed. Simultaneously, a goods train was passing by. As a consequence of the accident, some bogies of the Rayagada train collided with the goods train. Seven bogies from both passenger and goods trains were crushed. Due to two bogies of the Palasa train colliding with the tanker goods, the tracks rose, causing the train to overturn, highlighting the severity of the accident. The three bogies of the Rayagada train collided with the engine from behind and crashed into a nearby coal freight train. The disabled carriage of the Visakha-Rayagada train derailed and fell into the fields, while the D-1 bogie behind it was severely damaged. Providing relief at the scene has proven to be a challenging task. Could the death toll be significant? Approximately 1400 passengers were believed to be on board the Palasa and Rayagada passenger trains. According to estimates from relief operation personnel at the accident site, the death toll ranges from 40 to 50. By midnight, ten bodies had been recovered, with some already identified. The number of fatalities is expected to rise as the bogies carrying passengers lost control and split in two. Among the identified victims are K. Ravi from Jami mandal, Gudikommu from Vizianagaram district, Perumazzi Gaurinayudu from Garividi mandal Kapushambham village, and Gidijala Lakshmi (40) from SPR Puram G. Sigadam mandal in Srikakulam district. It appears that the guard MS Rao, who was leaning against the rear bogie of the Palasa train, and the loco pilots in the engine of the Rayagada train also lost their lives. Relief measures face extreme difficulties As the accident site is more than 5 km away from the Vizianagaram-Kottavalasa main road, providing relief efforts has become increasingly challenging. NDRF and SDRF teams have been providing crucial assistance. Cutters have been used to extract bodies from the crushed bogies. In order to transport the injured, they must walk on the railway track for a kilometer before being loaded into ambulances. The accident area resembled a desert, scattered with injured and deceased individuals. The seriously injured have been taken to Visakha KGH, while those with minor injuries have been transported to Vizianagaram Government Hospital. Minister Botsa Satyanarayana, Vizianagaram Collector Nagalakshmi, and SP Deepika have arrived at the scene to oversee the relief efforts. Was this caused by a signal problem or human error? The Palasa train departed from Visakha towards Vizianagaram at 5:45 pm, followed by the Rayagada passenger train on the same track at 6 o’clock. Within an hour, a fatal accident occurred. Passengers claim that the train from Kantakapalli was moving very slowly on the track due to a signal issue with the preceding Palasa train. In the meantime, it has been explained that the train coming from behind collided with it. A railway employee who was on board during the accident expressed concern, stating that in his 26 years of service, this was the first time such a tragedy had occurred.
Following the accident, the rescue operations were conducted using machinery. At around midnight, a coal transport train and a tanker train were relocated from the area. Additionally, all the bogies of the Palasa train, except those involved in the accident, were moved. During the accident, the Konark Express was halted at Kantakapalli, and the passengers were transported by road using the respective trains. Many trains have been canceled today due to the train accident. The railway authorities have announced the cancellation of the following trains on Monday: Korba-Visakhapatnam, Paradeep-Visakhapatnam, Rayagada-Visakhapatnam, Palasa-Visakhapatnam, Visakhapatnam-Gunupur, Gunupur-Visakhapatnam, and Vizianagaram-Visakhapatnam.
The families of the deceased will receive Rs 2 lakh as compensation, according to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences for the loss of life in the accident and offered his deepest sympathies to the families of the deceased. He also wished a speedy recovery to the injured and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the families of the deceased and Rs 50 thousand for the injured. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishna is also involved in the matter.
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