At least eight people were killed and around 20 injured after two trains collided in Andhra Pradesh’s Vizianagaram district on the Howrah-Chennai line on Sunday evening, a police official said.

A senior official of the East Coast Railway said the Palasa Passenger hit the Rayagada Passenger from behind at Kankatapalli, which caused three coaches to derail.

A senior railway official said 18-20 people were injured, adding that they were being shifted to hospitals in Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram.

Dr S. Appala Naidu, superintendent in charge of the Government General Hospital in Vizianagaram, said: “Ambulances have been sent to the accident sites and as of now we have received 20 injured people, out of which, three are serious. More ambulances are on the way so the number of injured persons might increase.”

The doctor added: “We haven’t received any bodies in the hospital as of now. However, there are reports of death of some passengers too.”

The chief public relations officer of the East Coast Railway said that the accident took place between Alamanda and Kantakapalli in the Vizianagaram-Kottavalasa Railway Section of the Waltair division of the East Coast Railway Zone about 7pm.

The official said 08532 Visakhapatnam-Palasa Passenger train and 08504 Visakhapatnam-Rayagada Passenger Special were involved in the accident and said the latter had overshot the signal. Two coaches of the Visakhapatnam-Palasa Passenger train from the rear and the loco of the Visakhapatnam-Rayagada Passenger got derailed, the official added.

Rescue operations are underway, with divisional railway manager of Waltair Saurabh Prasad and his team on the spot.

Accident relief trains and other rescue equipment have been engaged, the official said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office tweeted saying he was in touch with the railway minister and that all assistance was being provided to those affected.

“@narendramodi spoke to Railway Minister Shri @AshwiniVaishnaw and took stock of the situation in the wake of the unfortunate train derailment between Alamanda and Kantakapalle section. Authorities are providing all possible assistance to those affected. The Prime Minister extends condolences to the bereaved families and prays that the injured recover soon,” the PMO posted on X.

Andhra Pradesh minister Botcha Satyanarayana is overseeing the rescue operations, which have been hampered by darkness.