AMARAVATI, India: At least eight individuals were killed after two passenger trains collided in southern India on Sunday, officials said.
At least 25 individuals were injured in the crash, officials said. The crash happened in the Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh.
An incoming train slammed into a stationary train, resulting in the derailment of at least three rail cars, senior railway officer Saurab Prasad told the Associated Press news agency. The Indian Railway Ministry issued a statement indicating that two coaches had derailed.
A preliminary investigation determined that “human error” caused by “overshooting of signal” had led to the collision, the ministry further said.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) that he had spoken with the federal railway minister. He sent “condolences to the bereaved families and prays that the injured recover soon.”
Modi additionally announced financial compensation for families of the deceased in the accident to the tune of 200,000 rupees ($2,260, €2,397).
Andhra Pradesh’s Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy asked authorities to dispatch as many ambulances as possible to the crash site and other relief measures.
Train accidents are common in India and are frequently blamed on human error or outdated signalling equipment.
In June, an error in the electronic signalling system caused a train to wrongly change tracks, leading to a collision with a freight train in the eastern Odisha state.
The accident resulted in the loss of more than 280 lives and was one of the deadliest train crashes the country has witnessed in decades.
More than 12 million people ride 14,000 trains across India every day, travelling on 64,000 kilometres (40,000 miles) of the track.
