Hampi Exp Jumps Signal And Rams Stationary Goods Train At Penukonda
Penukonda: Twenty-five passengers were killed and over 50 others injured when Bangalore-bound Hampi Express overshot the signal and rammed into a stationary goods train at Penukonda railway station in Anantapur at 3.09 am on Tuesday. The impact was such that four bogies were derailed and one of them caught fire. Among the dead, at least 17 were burnt alive as the fire, reportedly caused by petrol spilled from some bikes kept in
one of the bogies, raged for over two hours. Of the 25 victims, 23 were from Karnataka and two from AP.
But it was a providential escape for hundreds of other passengers as the train had slowed down to 40km/hr at the time of the crash for its 2-minute halt at Penukonda, which comes under Bangalore division of South Western Railway (SWR). The ill-fated train was scheduled to reach Bangalore at 6.10 am.
Most of the victims were farm workers coming from Hubli, Bellary, Koppal and Hospet districts in Karnataka and on their way to Bangalore. An inquiry has been ordered, but a blame-game has already begun. While some officials attributed the collision to a faulty signalling system, Dharmavaram divisional railway manager (DRM) Tejpal Singh blamed the driver for ignoring the red signal.
“Prima facie, it seems that the driver had overshot the signal,” railway spokesperson Anil Saxena said in Delhi. Both the injured driver and his assistant, also in a hospital, were not in a position to speak. The police have registered a case of negligence against the two. Most of the injured have been shifted to Penukonda, Hindupur, Anantapur and Bangalore hospitals while the bodies have been moved to the government hospital at Penukonda. Nineteen victims have so far been identified. An SWR spokesman said that stranded passengers were later brought to Bangalore in eight buses, Rajdhani Express and Udyan Express.
The maximum casualties took place in the first and third bogies. The first bogie was a guard-cumluggage-cum-passenger coach and the second and third were general bogies. While the first and the third bogies derailed, the second remained on the tracks. The driver, while reaching the outer signal of Penukonda after passing Dharmavaram station, reportedly failed to see the red signal and rearended the goods train on platform 2 though he was supposed to take the train to platform 1.
Slow & Harrowing
3.09am|Hampi Express crashes into stationary goods train 4.10 am|Police reach the accident spot. Launch rescue efforts with only a single gas cutter 7.45 am|Medical relief van reaches mishap site 9.10 am|Crane arrives to lift mangled bogies. Hydraulic machinery and metal cutters also brought to site to cut open the windows to rescue injured, extricate bodies 12.40 pm|Rescue workers take out the bodies from the burnt bogie, clear out the third bogie also Relief offer angers kin
Hyderabad: “A cop travelling in the train alerted the higher-ups about the accident. Though police reached the site quickly, the fire made it difficult for them to take up rescue operations,” Harinath Reddy, deputy superintendent, Government Railway Police (Guntakal), said. Firefighters had to use metal cutters to get inside the bogies to rescue stuck passengers.
Anantapur collector Durgadas told TOI that nine ambulances, four fire tenders and special rescue teams were pressed into service. Ambulances and fire tenders from nearby Pavagada, Bagepalli and Tumkur areas in Karnataka also rushed. Railway minister Mukul Roy, who was in Kolkata, rushed to the accident site and announced that commissioner of railway safety (southern circle) S K Mittal would conduct a statutory inquiry.
After announcing a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased, Rs 1 lakh for the grievously injured and Rs 50,000 for those who received minor injuries, Roy offered railway jobs to the kin of the deceased. Karnataka CM Sadananda Gowda, who also rushed to the accident site, announced an ex gratia of Rs 1 lakh each for the families of those killed and Rs 25,000 for the injured.
But the compensation balm did little to soothe the injured passengers’ anger towards the officials’ rescue efforts. “The disaster management efforts were appalling. There should have been more rescue teams to help the injured,” complained Noorjahan of Gangavati town in Bellary district who is admitted to Hindupur Government Hospital along with her husband Moula Saheb. While another injured passenger Yuvraj, from Adoni in Kurnool, said: “There was no response from the railways for four hours after the mishap. Probably because the victims were poor travelling in general compartments.”
The accident delayed many Bangalore-bound trains travelling via AP for close to three hours, including the Secunderabad-Bangalore Express and Delhi-Bangalore Rajdhani.
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