Railway mishaps claim three lives per day in Andhra Pradesh

Vijayawada: About three persons die daily due to railway mishaps across Andhra Pradesh. The state witnessed a six per cent increase in railway mishaps in 2016 compared to 2015, according to the latest NCRB report on accidents and suicides. As many as 1,203 cases were there and around 1,208 people died due to these mishaps, making AP seventh in the country and number one in south India.

It is pertinent to note, however, that there wasn’t any major railway derailment or mishap in 2016 apart from the infamous Tuni incident where no lives were lost.

Most deaths took place while the passenger was in the train. Of the 1,208 deaths that took place, 1,206 were due to passengers accidentally falling off an overcrowded train. From foot boarding to deboarding a moving train, a range of reasons has been found to be the cause behind these deaths. Most of the accidents have taken place in the months of January and April. However, neither Vijayawada nor Vizag has even one railway mishap death and most deaths were reported in rural AP.

Besides, as many as 188 people died while crossing the railway lines in 2016, which is a 42% decrease compared to 2015. Most of the railway crossing accidents took place during the months of June and July.

NCRB data reveals that most line-crossing mishaps have been taking place between 9am and 12pm. As many as 65 people died in the peak fours in 2016. In fact, most of the other railway accidents have taken place in the same hours. Around 446 of them took place between 6am to 12pm which is around 36% of the total railway mishaps in 2016.