At least 25 people were reported to have been killed and 30 injured in a train collision in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday morning.
The accident occurred around 3:15 a.m. near Penneconda in Anantapur district, about 144 kilometers from Bangalore, where Hampi Express crashed into a stationary goods train leaving around 25 passengers injured and 14 others dead. Victims were mostly laborers and included around three women and two children, Harinath Reddy, the Deputy Superintendent of Government Railway Police, Guntakal, said according to the NDTV.
Railway officials were reported to have fled to the scene of collision and many of the injured were rushed to hospitals. Rescue teams are working towards getting out several passengers trapped inside the Express' bogies. The teams have rescued all the passengers belonging to the first bogie, said a PRO according to the Times of India.
Three of the Hampi Express' bogies were derailed, and two of the compartments caught fire as a result of the collision.
The express was coming towards Bangalore from Hubli when the incident took place.
"The reason of the accident is yet to be ascertained but prima facie it seems that the driver of Hampi Express overshot the signal," a Railway Spokesperson told PTI, according to NDTV.
Investigations are underway as to confirm the exact cause of the collision.
The accident has caused delay of several Bangalore-bound trains coming through Andhra Pradesh. Trains connecting Mumbai and Bangalore are also delayed, the news service said.
Families of the dead victims will each receive a compensation of one lakh rupees, while those injured will receive 25,000 rupees, the report added.
The Hampi Express generally leaves around 9 p.m. from the city station in Bangalore, and reaches Hospet by 7 a.m the following day. Hospet is the closest station for Hampi, which does not have a railway station of its own.
A similar incident occurred in December 2002, when Bangalore-bound Kacheguda-Bangalore Express derailed near Kurnool district, some 146 kilometers from Anantapur. Nineteen passengers were reportedly killed and nearly a hundred were injured. Officials cited "sabotage" as the cause for the accident.
For queries, listed below are the helpline numbers:
Bangalore - 080 22321166, 080 22156553, 080 22156554; Bellary - 08392 27704; Hospet - 08394 221788; Hubli - 0836 2345338, 0836 2346141, 0836 2289826
