Vizianagaram: At least 14 people were killed and 25 others injured when a passenger train travelling from Visakhapatnam to Rayagada derailed after colliding with the Visakhapatnam-Palasa passenger train near Kothavalasa railway station in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh. This was the third train accident since June 2 when the Coromandel Express crashed into a stationary freight train in Odisha’s Balasore, leading to the loss of 296 lives and 1,200 suffered injuries. On October 11, five passengers died and 30 others injured when the Delhi-Kamakhya North East Express derailed in Buxar district of Bihar.
The accident occurred when the Visakhapatnam-Palasa train was switching from the main track to a side track. Simultaneously, the Visakhapatnam-Rayagada train, travelling on the main track, rear-ended the other train, leading to the derailment of the last three coaches upon impact and damaging two severely.
Vizianagaram SP Deepika Patil confirmed that “at least 14 people were killed and over 25 others seriously injured in the accident. Four coaches of the Rayagada passenger train were involved”. However, East Coast Railway’s Waltair division manager Saurabh Prasad said: “Three coaches were involved in the accident.” As the coaches were “unreserved”, the details of the deceased passengers remain unknown.