Sunday, Dec 22, 2002
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By Dasu Kesava Rao
Bogies of the derailed Bangalore Express lying on the tracks near Pendakal station in Pendakal, 250 km south of Hyderabad, on Saturday. — AP
The General Manager of the South Central Railway, S. M. Singla, said that the accident could have been an act of sabotage. The real cause will, however, be known only after an enquiry by the Commissioner of Railway Safety. The Union Minister of State for Railways, Bandaru Dattatreya, reportedly gave a similar briefing to the Union Railway Minister, Nitish Kumar, in New Delhi. When the train reached the point between Pendekallu and Pagidirai in the Guntakal division at 40 minutes past midnight, there was a loud noise. The engine got detached from the rest of the train. It ploughed through the track for about 300 metres. The coaches overturned on the embankment. The Andhra Pradesh Minister for Technical Education, N. Anjaneyulu, travelling in the air-conditioned coach, escaped unhurt along with five other MLAs. He was the first to inform the Railway officials and the district administration of the accident. The injured were rushed to the Railway Hospital at Gooty in Anantapur district and the stranded passengers transported to different destinations by special trains and buses. Seven bodies were identified. They were those of Venkatanarayana, 55, K. Ramanjaneyulu, 55, Mahabub Basha, 45, Devadas, 30, Sajan Raj, 51, Thimmappa Naidu and R. Uma, 32. Mr. Dattatreya, the Railway Board Chairman, I.I.M.S. Rana, Mr. Singla and other senior Railway officials left for the spot by a special train. The Andhra Pradesh Minister for Home, T. Devender Goud, and other Ministers airdashed to the accident site to oversee relief operations.
Increased ex-gratia
Mr. Kumar announced a special, enhanced ex-gratia of Rs. 1 lakh each to the next of kin of the dead (against Rs. 15,000), Rs. 15,000 for the grievously injured and Rs. 5,000 for the injured. The Andhra Pradesh Governor, C. Rangarajan, the Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, and other leaders expressed shock and conveyed their condolences to the bereaved families. Our Kurnool Staff Reporter writes: Rescue teams had a tough time extricating the bodies of those trapped in the mauled coaches. About 30 workers struggled for over six hours to remove them by cutting metal pieces using gas cutters. The diesel loco jumped the rails and ploughed through the track but did not overturn. The coaches immediately behind the engine — the general coach, S-14, S-1, S-2 and S-4 overturned and fell off the track. An eye-witness said that the train, with 22 coaches, was moving at a speed of 80 km an hour. Around 12.45 a.m., the passengers heard a deafening noise and felt jolted. Anjaneyulu, who was travelling in the general coach, said power failed after the coach overturned. He did not know what happened for the next 15 minutes. Somebody helped him out of the coach, he said. The engine driver, Koteswara Rao, applied the brakes on hearing the noise. The staff alerted the Pendekal station over the wireless. A relief train was rushed to the spot. There are conflicting views about the cause of the accident. The security staff and officials engaged in the restoration work feel that it was caused by a broken rail. The rail was cut vertically with a slant where the S-6 coach was positioned. However, briefing Mr. Goud at the spot, Mr. Singla insisted on the sabotage theory.
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