8 Crushed to Death in Andhra Pradesh Train Accident

Seven of the eight Bokaro Express passengers who were run over by another train near Vizianagaram in Andhra Pradesh Saturday night have been identified, police said.

All the bodies were shifted to railway hospital at Visakhapatnam. "One body is yet to be identified," a police official said Sunday.

One of the two injured is in critical condition. The dead have been identified as Alexis, 27, Shweta Singh, 33, Samhita, 10, Shaurya, 2, Tara Devi, 34, Kartik Sahu, 70, and Lokender Kumar, 28.

Police said Lokender Kumar was a soldier in the army. The dead comprise three members of a family.

Eight people were killed and two injured after being run over by a speeding train in Vizianagaram District in Andhra Pradesh. The accident took place at Gotlam village station, close to Vizianagaram.

The CPRO has said: The passengers were of the Alappuzha-Dhanbad train that came under the Rayagada-Vijayawada passenger train coming from the opposite direction on the adjacent track.

It started after passengers of the Bokaro Express (Alleppy to Dhanbad), proceeding to Bokaro Steel city, pulled the chain at the railway yard at Gotlam station near Vizianagaram town when they heard a rumour that a compartment of the train was on fire. They then alighted the train and jumped onto the tracks at around 6.50pm.

It was dark and the passengers didn't see the Rayagada-Vijaywada passenger train coming from the opposite direction on the adjacent track. The Raigarh-Vijaywada train ran over them, an East Coast railway spokesperson has said. "The passengers pulled the chain as rumors spread that one of the compartments (of Bokaro Express) had caught fire. As it was dark, they did not notice the oncoming train", the railway official said.

The dead comprise three members of a family from Aurangabad in Bihar. Manoj Kumar lost his wife Shweta Singh and two children two-year-old Shaurya and 10-year-old Samhita Kumari. The family was returning to Aurangabad from Bangalore. Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge termed the incident as "most tragic" and instructed the officials to ensure the injured get speedy treatment.

An inquiry has been ordered into the incident.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy expressed anguish over the accident. Reddy, who was in Bengaluru, spoke to the district Collector and the SP over phone and asked them to supervise the relief operations, an official release said in Hyderabad.