[1]Hours after Hampi Express hit a stationary goods train in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantpur district, leaving over two dozen people dead, the ill-fated passenger train’s driver and his assistant are being suspected as the ones who are guilty of negligence.
Both have been injured in the accident and are recuperating at Penukonda Government Hospital. Sources said a police case has been registered against the duo. Railways spokesperson Anil Saxena on Tuesday indicated that as per preliminary information available, the driver of Hampi Express overshot signal and rammed the rear end of the goods train.
Meanwhile, railway minister Mukul Roy has ordered an inquiry into the matter and has directed South Western Railway’s commissioner of Railway Security Satish Kumar Mittal and his team to complete investigation by May 25. There, however, are some lingering questions that are being raised regarding the cause of the accident.
“If the driver of the train failed to notice the signal, how did the co-driver fail to notice it too? The signal has to be given by the station master; what was he doing when he saw the train miss the signal?” asked a senior official from the Railways. There are a slew of other safety protocols supposed to be in place, but it is yet to be ascertained if they were in place. “We will know the truth once the report is out,” he said.
Links:
[1] http://archive.asianage.com/23train2jpgcropdisplayjpg-081