Hyderabad: Five people including a Karnataka legislator were killed early on Monday morning when a granite-laden truck rammed into an express train at a level crossing in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur, the second fatal accident this month involving the railways.
Around 25 people are said to have been injured in the accident, which occurred at around 2.25am at Madakasira, more than 450 km from capital Hyderabad.
Official sources said Karnataka MLA Venkatesh Nayak and the driver of the truck are among the five people killed when four coaches of the Bangalore-Nanded Express derailed under the impact of the collision with the truck.
The driver of the truck, who was allegedly in an inebriated condition, was driving at a very high speed and failed to notice the closed gates at a level crossing.
Bangalore-Nanded express train collides with lorry in Anantpur(Andhra Pradesh), 5 killed. pic.twitter.com/5NhqU4S8cc
— ANI (@ANI_news) August 24, 2015
Union railway minister Suresh Prabhu expressed condolences.
Immediate medical relief has been sent and injured are being treated, Prabhu tweeted.
Unfortunate accident.Loaded truck hit train.Condolences to families.Immediate medical relief sent.Injured treated.Ordered GM etc to rush
— Suresh Prabhu (@sureshpprabhu) August 24, 2015
The railway ministry tweeted that the accident was caused due to the negligence of the lorry driver.
Negligence of lorry driver,ignoring rules of passing while LC gate is closed causes havoc,loss of lives,impacts trn running @sureshpprabhu
— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) August 24, 2015
Earlier this month, at least 35 people died when two trains derailed within minutes of each other while crossing a small bridge near Harda town in Madhya Pradesh.
India has the world’s fourth largest railway network that ferries more than 23 million passengers every day, but infrastructure is poorly maintained and accidents are common.
In 2012, a government report said almost 15,000 people were killed every year on the railways, describing the deaths as an annual “massacre” due mainly to poor safety standards.
(Agencies)
