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CatastropheIndia

India: Passenger train collision kills several

October 30, 2023

At least 13 people have died after two passenger trains collided in southeast India. The country's railway ministry said a preliminary investigation suggested that the crash was a result of "human error."

https://p.dw.com/p/4YB84
Rescuers and others stand after two passenger trains collided in Vizianagaram district, Andhra Pradesh state, India, Sunday, October 29, 2023.
Several train services were either disrupted or canceled because of the crash in Andhra Pradesh stateImage: AP/picture alliance

The death toll from the collision of two passenger trains in southern India on Sunday has risen to 13, authorities said.

At least 25 people were injured in the crash, officials said. The accident happened in Andhra Pradesh's Vizianagaram district. 

An incoming train slammed into a stationary train, derailing at least two rail cars, senior railway officer Saurab Prasad said, according to the Associated Press news agency.

The Indian Railway Ministry said in a statement that two coaches were derailed.

A preliminary investigation found that "human error" caused by "overshooting of signal" had led to the collision, the ministry said.

India train crash caused by signal error, officials say

Modi announces financial compensation 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that he had spoken with the federal railway minister. He sent "condolences to the bereaved families and prays that the injured recover soon."

Modi announced financial compensation for families of those who died in the accident to the tune of 200,000 rupees ($2,260, €2,397). 

Andhra Pradesh's Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy asked authorities to send as many ambulances as possible to the crash site and other relief measures.

Train crashes are common in India and are often blamed on human error or outdated signaling equipment.

In June, an error in the electronic signaling system led a train to wrongly change tracks and crash into a freight train in the eastern Odisha state.

The accident killed more than 280 people and was one of the country's deadliest crashes in decades.

More than 12 million people ride 14,000 trains across India every day, traveling on 64,000 kilometers (40,000 miles) of track.

rm/jsi (Reuters, AP)