Visakhapatnam: Commissioner of railway safety Pranjeev Saxena, who arrived here on Monday evening, is inquiring into all aspects of the accident that took place between Alamanda and Kantakapalli stations in Vizianagaram district under Waltair division of East Coast Railway on Sunday.
The accident was caused when the Rayagada passenger rammed into the tail end of the Palasa passenger, killing 13 passengers and injuring 32 persons. Of them, 22 were still undergoing treatment at the Vizianagaram GGH and other hospitals.
Talking to Deccan Chronicle, divisional railway manager Saurab Prasad said the commissioner visited the accident site, examined the condition of the damaged coaches, signal visibility, signal relay rooms and visited the GGH in Vizianagaram to interact with the injured persons.
On Tuesday, the commissioner visited the crew lobby, data logger centre and signal fault control room. He spent the entire day checking the simulated signaling system in the divisional office in Visakhapatnam, the DRM said.
“An open inquiry will be conducted on November 1 and November 2 from 11 am to 6 pm. Notices were issued to the witnesses to attend the inquiry,’’ the DRM said.
He said the commissioner also collected photos, videos of the accident site and the relief work that was undertaken immediately after the accident. From the railways, two doctors were sent to the Vizianagaram hospital as also a commercial officer and a personal officer.
The DRM put the final toll at 13, grievous injuries at 14 and simple injuries at 16. Two injured were discharged after the first aid. Of the injured, eight underwent orthopedic surgery and 22 general surgery.
