10 dead as passenger trains collide in Andhra Pradesh's Vizianagaram

At least 10 people were killed and about 25 were injured in a collision between two passenger trains in India’s Andhra Pradesh state on Sunday, a senior government official said. At least three coaches of one of the trains carrying scores of passengers were derailed in the incident, Nagalakshmi. S, a senior government official stationed in Vizianagaram, a district situated near the accident site, told Reuters. The accident occurred when a Visakhapatnam-Ragada passenger train stopped due to a break in an overhead cable and the oncoming train, a Visakhapatnam-Palasa Express service, rammed into it, derailing some carriages, a senior railways official said. Andhra Pradesh’s Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy ordered immediate relief measures to be taken and asked for ambulances to be rushed from Visakhapatnam and Anakapalli, the nearest districts near Vizianagaram, his office said in a statement. The minister also issued orders to coordinate other government departments to initiate disaster-relief measures.

He has also issued orders to coordinate other government departments including health, police and revenue to take quick-relief measures and ensure that the injured receive prompt medical services. Rescue operations were underway.