8 killed, 20 injured after two trains collide in Andhra Pradesh; PM Modi speaks to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

As per the inputs received by ETV Bharat, eight passengers lost their lives in the incident. The death toll is likely to increase as the collision was of such intensity that one of the bogies turned into a mass of crushed metal.

Visakhapatnam:At least eight persons were killed, and 20 others were injured after two trains collided in Vizianagaram district on Sunday evening, railway officials said.

The incident took place at Kantakapalli, Kothavalasa mandal in Vizianagaram district. The 08504 Visakhapatnam-Rayagada Passenger train collided with the 08532 Visakhapatnam-Palasa Passenger train. The collision led to the derailment of three coaches of the Visakhapatnam-Rayagada train, according to railway officials.

As per the inputs received by ETV Bharat, eight passengers lost their lives in the incident. The death toll is likely to increase as the collision was of such intensity that one of the bogies turned into a mass of crushed metal. Due to the dark, the rescue operation faced some hurdles even as Police and Railway personnel were at the spot.

A senior Railway official meanwhile said 18-20 people were injured, adding that the injured are being shifted to hospitals in Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram. Dr S Appala Naidu, Superintendent of the Government General Hospital In-Charge, Vizianagaram, told PTI, "Ambulances have been sent to the accident sites and as of now we have received 20 injured people, out of which, three are serious. More ambulances are on the way so the number of injured persons might increase."

Source: East Coast Railway

The doctor added, "We haven't received any bodies in the hospital as of now. However, there are reports of death of some passengers too." On receiving news of the rail accident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office tweeted saying the PM was in touch with the Railway Minister and that all assistance was being provided to those affected.

"@narendramodi spoke to Railway Minister Shri @AshwiniVaishnaw and took stock of the situation in the wake of the unfortunate 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."

Divisional Railway Manager Saurabh Prasad reached the site, and rescue operations are in full swing. Local administration and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were informed, seeking assistance and ambulances, and accident relief trains have reached the site, the officials added.

Expressing shock over the incident, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy instructed the officials concerned to undertake rescue operations. He asked the officials to arrange sufficient number of ambulances to ferry the injured.

Meanwhile, Railway authorities issued helpline numbers after the incident. "Helpline No. at Visakhapatnam Rly Stn regarding Train derailment between Alamanda and Kantakapalle rly section. BSNL no 08912746330 08912744619 Airtel sim 8106053051 8106053052 BSNL sim 8500041670 8500041671," Indian Railways posted on X, formerly Twitter.

This train collision comes months after a massive train crash in Balasore, Odisha on June 2 in which around 300 people were killed and over 1,000 injured. In that incident, Coromandel Express had crashed into a stationary freight train at Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore.