Sunday, October 29, would have been like any other work day for Reserve Sub-Inspector Venkatesh, a member of the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Response Force (SDRF). When he received a call at 7:50 pm, little did he anticipate that it would be the biggest disaster he would witness first-hand. Venkatesh was one of several SDRF members involved in the rescue operations following the tragic train accident that took place on October 29 at Kantakapalli in Vizianagaram, when two passenger trains departing from Visakhapatnam railway station collided.
The regional Revenue Department of Jami Mandal in Vizianagaram district sent a disaster response force headed by Venkatesh along with a team of 40 others to Kanatakaplle for rescue operations that began on the night of October 29 and continued until the next morning. “It was my first train (rescue) operation, and it was unsettling,” recalled the sub-inspector, who has also participated in flood rescues and bus accident rescues in the past.
"We received a call at 7:50 pm and reached the accident spot at 8.30 pm. It was pitch dark as the power lines in the trains were severed. We arrived equipped with hydraulic cutters/jaws, stretchers, and more. RPF teams had already reached the scene, and later, NDRF teams joined us," he recalled. Venkatesh added that he was unsure whether it were survivors or residents from nearby villages who provided support. “Several volunteers offered assistance, aiding response teams to transfer the injured to ambulances,” he said.
Elaborating further on the rescue process, Venkatesh recalled that all the recovered bodies were identified in crushed or mutilated states. “The primary focus was on removing the bodies with minimal additional damage. The final body was found at about 7:30 am on Monday, and the rescue effort lasted until about 8:00 am,” Venkatesh said.
The train accident was a tragic rear-end collision that occurred at Kantakapalli in Vizianagaram between two trains departing from Visakhapatnam railway station on Sunday evening, bound for Rayagada(Odisha) and Palasa(Andhra) respectively. The incident took place on a three-line track along the Visakhapatnam-Vizianagaram route, resulting in the derailment of five coaches. The accident led to the loss of 13 lives, with 49 individuals sustaining injuries. Both the loco-pilot and the assistant loco-pilot of the Rayagada-bound train passed away in the collision.
There were two goods tankers on the tracks on either side of the central line. “We discovered that one of the coaches had been hit so hard that it had fallen onto the tanker of the goods train. On the other hand, serious casualties were averted because the bogie was not crushed like the other three bogies where the majority of the bodies were discovered,” he said.
The CPRO of East Coast Railway, Biswajit Sahu, told the media that an eight to ten portland machine, a 140-ton crane, and accident relief trains (ARTs) were utilised in the rescue operation. Around 700–800 railway employees had taken part in the rescue effort.
Venkatesh said that other bogies on the train were largely empty, and those passengers may have left, unable to make out anything in the dark. Venkatesh also noted that power was restored to the undamaged bogies at around 11 pm, after which they were pulled back to the engines. A 26-year-old passenger named Ravi Kumar said that he felt a massive jerk, and fell from his seat and that the power went out immediately after the collision. “In a few minutes, some of us got down to check and we were told that the train had derailed. Survivors left the bogies after, in fear of electric shocks,” he recalled.