In a major railway accident, 40 rail passengers died and nearly 100 were injured, when the engine and eight compartments of the Jagdalpur – Bhubaneswar Hirakhand Express derailed near the Kuneru railway station in Komarada mandal of Vizianagaram district on Saturday night at around 11.30 p.m, according to railway officials.

AP HRD Minister G. Srinivasa Rao along with railway officials of East Coast Railways visited the King George Hospital here on Sunday morning to enquire about the condition of nine passengers brought here for treatment. Some of the injured passengers were taken to Rayagada in Odisha for treatment.

The train left Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh at around 4.25 p.m on Saturday and it was scheduled to reach Bhubaneswar at around 6.30 a.m on Sunday.

After crossing Rayagada in Odisha, the train derailed just before Kuneru Railway station. The train had no stop at Kuneru and the next stop was at Parvathipuram in Vizianagarama district in AP.

It is learnt that the train was going at a speed of about 70 kmph. Sources say that it could have happened due to a fracture on the lines, but "it is too early to come to a conclusion", said an official.

NDRF, RPF and CRPF teams carried out the relief and rescue operations. Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu visited the accident site and later he went to Rayagada in Odisha to enquire about the condition of the injured passengers. He announced ex gratia of Rs 2 lakhs for the next of kin of the dead passengers. He said a thorough inquiry would be conducted into the accident and follow-up steps taken to prevent such mishaps.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu expressed grief and shock over the accident. The Chief Minister announced Rs 5 lakh for the families of the dead passengers.

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