At least eight people were killed and around 20 injured in a collision between two trains in southeast India on Sunday evening, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported, citing authorities.
The derailment occurred between the towns of Alamanda and Kantakapalle in Andhra Pradesh state after a train carrying passengers failed to obey a signal, according to PTI.
According to a police official, eight people died and 18 to 20 others were injured, according to a high-ranking representative of the railway company, the news agency said.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hinted [prié] for a quick recovery of the injured.
India, which has one of the largest railway networks in the world, has experienced numerous fatal train accidents in its history. However, security has improved in recent years thanks to investments and technological improvements.
The deadliest accident in the country’s history remains that of June 6, 1981, when seven carriages of a train crossing a bridge plunged into the Bagmati River in the state of Bihar (east), killing between 800 and 1,000 people.
In June, a collision between three trains near Balasore in the eastern state of Odisha left nearly 300 dead and more than a thousand injured due to a problem in the switch system.
In August, at least nine people died in a fire in a train carriage in southern India caused by a passenger heating water to make tea.