Andhra train crash toll rises to 123

Indian soldiers evacuate yesterday a body on a stretcher at the site where a passenger train derailed Saturday in the Nalgonda District of India' southern Andhra Pradesh state. PHOTO: AFP

Local people and activists pulled out eight bodies from bushes and muddy waters of a rivulet into which the train fell, as rescue work resumed early on Sunday.

The Repalle-Secunderabad Delta Passenger train derailed and plunged into a rivulet due to breaches on the track caused by gushing waters from two overflowing reservoirs following heavy rains in the region.

The accident occurred on Saturday near Veligonda, about 80 km east of Hyderabad in Nalgonda district.

Rescue teams from the army, railways, fire brigade and police, which had called off rescue efforts on Saturday due to darkness and bad weather, began cutting through three remaining compartments with the help of gas cutters.