Karnataka MLA among five killed after truck collides with Bangalore-Nanded Express near Anantpur

Hyderabad: Five people including a legislator from Karnataka were killed and 20 others were injured when a truck hit a coach of a moving train in Andhra Pradesh in the early hours of Monday, officials said. The driver of the granite-laden truck lost control and hit a coach of Nanded Express at a level crossing in Anantpur district. [caption id=“attachment_2404614” align=“alignleft” width=“380” class=" “]  Image courtesy: ANI[/caption] Besides the truck driver, three passengers in an AC first class (H1) coach and its attendant were among the victims. Earlier reports quoting local officials had put the toll at six but the railways clarified that five died in the accident. A. Venkatesh Naik, a member of Karnataka assembly from Devadurg constituency in Raichur district, was among the train passengers killed in the disaster. The accident occurred at a level crossing at Madakasira in Penukonda mandal of Anantapur district around 2.30 a.m. when the train was on its way to Nanded in Maharashtra from Bengaluru. The speeding truck was carrying huge granites and the driver apparently failed to notice the railway gate on the recently constructed road. Such was the impact of the collision that the H1 passenger car was ripped apart. All dead and almost all injured were from this coach. Four coaches (B-1, H1, S-1 and S-2) were also derailed derailed in the mishap, the South Western Railway said.

Bangalore-Nanded Express train accident: More visuals from the spot pic.twitter.com/C5pR2PYSsf

— ANI (@ANI) August 24, 2015

Some passengers in S1 and S2 sustained minor injuries due to derailment. Anantapur district collector K. Sasidhar said 20 buses were arranged for the stranded passengers to take them to their respective destinations. The injured were shifted to a government-run hospital at Penukonda. Andhra Pradesh Health Minister Kamineni Srinivas and another minister from the district Palle Raghunath Reddy called on the injured and directed the officials to provide best possible treatment to them. The accident affected the movement on Bengaluru-Guntakal route. Railway officials with the help of local authorities were engaged in removing the derailed coaches to clear the track. Railway has also released help line numbers, Help line desk at Bangalore City Railway Station: 080 22354108, 09731666751, 080 22156553; Help line desk at Penukonda Station: 0855220244. Agencies