The dismembered body of one passenger was initially counted as two but during the autopsy it was determined to be that of one individual.
Published Oct 31, 2023 | 12:23 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 31, 2023 | 12:23 PM
Vizianagaram train collision'. (X)
The toll in the collision involving two passenger trains in Andhra Pradesh has been revised to 13, as the dismembered body of a victim was “counted as two,” before post-mortem, official sources said on Tuesday, 31 October.
The Railways and Andhra Pradesh state government authorities had earlier announced the death of 14 persons in the Sunday, 29 October, incident that also left 50 persons injured.
The dismembered body of one passenger was initially counted as two but during the autopsy procedure it was determined to be that of one individual, sources added.
“On Monday, we had two unidentified bodies in the beginning. We got almost two halves of one person. There was confusion and we counted those halves as two persons. But during the autopsy it emerged that it was one person only,” the source told PTI.
Since the two halves had been identified and matched as one person, the toll was subsequently revised to 13, the source added.
On Sunday night, the Palasa Passenger train hit the Rayagada Passenger from behind at Kantakapalli, about 40 km from Visakhapatnam, causing three coaches to derail.
A preliminary railway probe into the accident has held the driver and the assistant driver of Rayagada Passenger train responsible for the collision as it passed two defective auto signals violating norms. Both crew members were killed in the accident.
Signed by seven experts, the preliminary report said they carefully examined the accident site, available evidence, statements of officials concerned, data logger report and the speedometer chart.
It concluded that the Rayagada passenger train (08504) hit the Visakhapatnam Palasa passenger train (08532) from the rear due to the crew of the former passing two defective auto signals.
“Hence, LP (loco pilot) SMS Rao, ALP (Assistant Loco Pilot) Chiranjeevi, of train no 08504 (Rayagada Passenger train) held responsible,” the report, accessed by PTI, said. Both SMS Rao and Chiranjeevi, along with guard of Palasa passenger, MS Rao, were killed in the accident.
According to the railway norm, the train should have stopped for two minutes at the defective auto signals and then started at 10 kmph which it didn’t do, leading to the collision, the report said.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday visited the train accident victims at the Vizianagaram Government General Hospital and enquired about their treatment and facilities.
Accompanied by Education Minister Botcha Satyanarayana, Vizianagaram district collector S Nagalakshmi and others, the chief minister inspected the treatment facilities and went around talking to the victims.
విజయనగరం జిల్లా కంటకాపల్లి రైలు ప్రమాద ఘటనా స్థలం వద్ద ముఖ్యమంత్రి వైఎస్ జగన్ ఏరియల్ సర్వే. విజయనగరం ప్రభుత్వాసుపత్రిలో క్షతగాత్రులను పరామర్శించిన తర్వాత విశాఖ ఎయిర్పోర్టుకు చేరుకునేముందు ఏరియల్ సర్వే నిర్వహించిన సీఎం. pic.twitter.com/TwsPC46JZd
— CMO Andhra Pradesh (@AndhraPradeshCM) October 30, 2023
“Are they taking good care of you? Is the doctor taking care of you,” Reddy asked a victim who suffered a leg injury and proceeded to talk to two minor girls and their mother undergoing treatment. He spent almost an hour with several patients.
Earlier, Jagan had instructed officials to pay an ex-gratia of ₹10 lakh each to the kin of the deceased and ₹2 lakh each to the injured from Andhra Pradesh.
He also announced a compensation of ₹2 lakh each for the kin of the deceased and ₹50,000 each for the injured from other states, according to an official release.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had announced an ex-gratia compensation of ₹10 lakh in case of death, ₹2 lakh towards grievous and ₹50,000 for minor injuries.
All injured shifted to hospitals.
Ex-gratia compensation disbursement started – ₹10 Lakh in case of death,
₹2.5 Lakh towards grievous and ₹50,000 for minor injuries.— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) October 29, 2023
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