At least five people were killed after being run over by the Konark Express in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh late on Monday, April 11, police said. They were passengers of a Guwahati-bound superfast express and had got down onto the adjoining railway track in Batuva village in G. Sigadam mandal when their train stopped due to a technical problem, they said. The Konark Express was coming from the opposite direction and ran over these people, they said.
Immediately after the accident, Srikakulam District Collector Srikesh Lathkar directed local officials to rush to spot and shift the injured to the nearest hospital. "The Government Railway Police are reaching the accident spot to ascertain if there are more casualties," Superintendent of Police, Srikakulam, G R Radhika told PTI over phone on Monday night.
Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy expressed grief over the accident. He directed the district authorities to undertake relief operations and ensure that proper medical care is provided to the injured, if any.
Two of the deceased were identified as residents of Assam based on the identity cards found on them. Efforts were on to identify the remaining deceased. They are also believed to be from other states. The Chief Minister said though the deceased belonged to other states, an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each should be paid to their families on humanitarian grounds.
Last month, hundreds of train passengers who were standing on the tracks had a close escape when they missed being run over by a Shatabdi Express in Kolar district of Karnataka. The incident, which took place on March 9 left one person dead and two others seriously injured.
Two passenger trains were stopped at the Tekal railway station near Malur in Kolar district to allow the passage of the Shatabdi train. The trains were stopped on either side of the tracks.
The Shatabdi Express going towards Chennai from Mysuru was supposed to pass on the middle track. Hundreds of passengers from the two passenger trains who had stepped down stood on the tracks. As the Shatabdi rushed towards the station, the people who were gathered on the tracks ran helter-skelter and narrowly missed being hit by the train. Though other people shouted and alerted those on the tracks, one person was hit by the train and died on the spot.