In a train derailment incident in Andhra Pradesh, 14 people were killed on Sunday.
Officials of the East Coast Railway (ECR) said that at around 7pm on Sunday, the Palasa passenger train hit the Rayagada passenger train from behind at Kantakapalli, about 40Km from here, causing three coaches to derail.
According to the information provided by Vizianagaram Collector S Nagalakshmi, at least 40 people were injured.
A senior railway official has said the injured were being shifted to hospitals in Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram. However, the death toll has now reached 14.
Expressing shock over the incident, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 10 lakh each to the kin of the deceased and Rs 2 lakh each to the injured from the state.
He also announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each for the injured from other states, according to an official release.
Eighteen trains have been cancelled so far and 22 diverted, media reports have quoted Biswajit Sahu, CPRO, East Coast Railway, as saying.
The East Coast Railway has released helpline numbers (Bhubaneswar 0674-2301625, 2301525, 2303069, and Waltair 0891-2885914.)
