CleanupBot II at 09:26, 14 August 2023

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{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2017}}
{{Infobox public transit accident
| name = Kuneru train derailment

| image = File:Hirakhand Express (BBS-Jagdalpur) Route map.jpg
| image_size =
| image_alt =
| caption = Scheduled train route<br />Kuneru Station falls between {{abbrlink|RGDA|Rayagada railway station}}–{{abbrlink|VZM|Vizianagaram railway station}}.

| image_map =
| image_map_alt =
| image_map_caption =
| pushpin_map = India Andhra Pradesh#India
| alternative_map =
| pushpin_map_alt =
| pushpin_map_caption =
| mapframe =
| qid =
| mapframe_zoom =
| coordinates = {{coord|18|57|59|N|83|26|25|E|type:event|display=inline}}

| date = 21 January 2017
| time = 11:00 p.m. [[Indian Standard Time|local time]]<br />(16:30 [[coordinated universal time|UTC]], 21 January)
| location = [[Kuneru]], [[Andhra Pradesh]]
| location_dir =
| location_city =
| location_dist_km =
| location_dist_mi =
| country = [[India]]
| line = Part of [[Jharsuguda–Vizianagaram line]]
| operator = [[East Coast Railway zone]]
| owner =
| service =
| type = [[Derailment]]
| cause = Under investigation

| bus =
| trains = 1
| vehicles =
| passengers = ~600
| crew =
| pedestrians =
| deaths = 41
| injuries = 68
| damage =
| property =

| route_map =
| route_map_state =
| route_map_name =

| footnotes =
}}

On January 21, 2017, the [[Hirakhand Express]] 18448, a scheduled passenger [[train]] from [[Jagdalpur]] to [[Bhubaneswar]], derailed near the village of [[Kuneru]] in [[Vizianagaram district|Vizianagaram]], [[Andhra Pradesh]], India, killing 41 people and injuring 68 others. The train was carrying 600 passengers.<ref name="time">{{cite news |title=Investigation into India Train Crash Launched as Death Toll Rises to 41 |url=http://time.com/4642945/india-train-crash-andhra-pradesh/ |date=23 January 2017 |work=Time}}</ref>

== Accident ==
The diesel engine of the train and nine cars derailed on Saturday around 11 pm local time.<ref name="1:">{{cite news |date=2017-01-22|title=Jagdalpur-Bhubaneswar Hirakhand Express derails LIVE updates: 39 dead, Railways suspect sabotage; Suresh Prabhu meets victims’ family |url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/jagdalpur-bhubaneswar-hirakhand-express-derailment-live-updates-dead-several-injured-rescue-ops-underway-4485949/ |newspaper=The Indian Express |location=New Delhi |access-date=2017-01-22 }}</ref> Three cars derailed with enough force to leave the roadbed entirely,<ref name="reuters">{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-crash-idUSKBN15604D?il=0|title=At least 39 killed as Indian train derails|agency=Reuters|date=22 January 2017|accessdate=23 January 2017}}</ref> and some collided with a freight train on a parallel track.<ref name="aj">{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/01/dozens-killed-train-derails-southern-india-170122070105157.html|title=Dozens killed after train derails in southern India|publisher=Al Jazeera|date=22 January 2017|accessdate=23 January 2017}}</ref> According to a district fire department official, some of the casualties were a result of a stampede within the train as passengers tried to flee after the crash.<ref name="nyt">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/22/world/asia/india-train-hirakhand-express.html?ref=world|title=Train Derails in Southern India, Killing Dozens|work=The New York Times|date=22 January 2017|accessdate=23 January 2017}}</ref> Emergency teams worked intensively to locate and rescue survivors from the crash, said the National railway spokesman Anil Saxena.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-38708477|title=India Andhra Pradesh train crash leaves 39 dead and scores injured|date=2017-01-22|newspaper=BBC News|language=en-GB|access-date=2017-01-25}}</ref>

== Aftermath ==
The first rescue workers reached the location of the crash 40 minutes after the train derailed.<ref name="nyt" /> Rescue and recovery work continued until the next day, while repairs to the track were completed by the morning of 23 January.<ref name="reuters" /> [[Indian Railways]] said that it would pay [[Indian rupees|₹]]200,000 to the families of those killed in the crash and ₹50,000 to injured passengers,<ref name="nyt" /> while the government of Odisha announced that it planned to pay ₹500,000 to families of the dead.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.oneindia.com/india/odisha-announces-ex-gratia-relief-hirakhand-express-derailme-2324840.html | title=Odisha announces ex-gratia relief to Hirakhand express derailment victims | publisher=One India | date=22 January 2017 | accessdate=24 January 2017}}</ref>

== Investigation ==
According to [[Andhra Pradesh]] Chief Minister [[N. Chandrababu Naidu]], investigation of the accident, in conjunction with India's Railway Safety Commissioner, started on January 22.<ref name="1:" /> Director General of Police K.B. Singh said that there was no evidence of sabotage of the track involved, though unnamed railroad officials had initially hypothesized such.<ref name="1:" />

== See also ==
* [[Pukhrayan train derailment]]
* [[List of accidents and disasters by death toll#Rail accidents and disasters|List of deadliest rail accidents]]
* [[List of Indian rail incidents]]

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

{{2017 railway accidents}}
{{Disasters in India in 2017}}

[[Category:2017 disasters in India]]
[[Category:History of Andhra Pradesh (2014–present)]]
[[Category:2010s in Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:January 2017 events in India]]
[[Category:Railway accidents in 2017]]
[[Category:Railway accidents and incidents in Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:Vizianagaram district]]
[[Category:Derailments in India]]

Kuneru train derailment - Revision history

CleanupBot II at 09:26, 14 August 2023