View source for Kurnool train crash

{{Short description|Railway accident caused by sabotage}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2016}}
{{nofootnotes|date=April 2010}}
{{Infobox terrorist attack
|title      = Kurnool train crash
|image      =India_Andhra_Pradesh_locator_map_(1956-2014).svg
|caption    = Location of Andhra Pradesh in India
|location   = [[Kurnool]],<br>[[Andhra Pradesh]], [[India]]
|target     = [[Kacheguda - Bengaluru City Superfast Express|Civilian passenger train]]
|date       = 21 December 2002
|time       = 1:00 a.m.
|timezone   = [[UTC]]+5.5
|type       = Deliberate derailment of train
|fatalities = 20
|injuries   = 80
|perps      = [[Lashkar-e-Taiba]] suspected
}}
{{Terrorist attacks in India (since 2001)}}
The '''Kurnool train crash''' was the derailment and crash of a passenger train in [[Kurnool]] district in [[Andhra Pradesh (1956–2014)|Andhra Pradesh]], [[India]], on 21 December 2002.

The [[Kacheguda - Bengaluru City Superfast Express]] was an express passenger service traveling between [[Hyderabad, India|Hyderabad]] and [[Bangalore]]; it entered the Kurnool district at 1:00&nbsp;am, when it suddenly derailed, throwing the engine and seven carriages off the track and into one another. Twenty people were killed in the wreckage or died later in hospital, as local people flocked to the train to help those injured. Emergency services were able to respond quickly, so there was no fire, which could have claimed many more lives.

In addition to the dead, approximately 80 people were listed as injured, with around 30 requiring hospitalization in [[Gooty]], the nearest town. The line was hastily cleared to allow service to resume as soon as possible. During the hasty repairs to the rails, it was discovered that one of the railway tracks had been recently and deliberately severed, which caused the derailment.

Sabotage is often claimed following rail crashes in India, which has approximately 100 domestic terrorist groups, some of which have been known to target trains, such as the [[Rafiganj rail disaster]] of two months previously. Sometimes, sabotage is suggested by politicians or railway staff to cover up their own mistakes or corruption which can lead to poor maintenance. Such was initially possible here, with many criticizing the premature announcement of sabotage as the cause by local police.

Further investigations discovered used hacksaw blades and cloth used to disguise the broken line at the scene. Investigators believe the saboteurs took several nights to cut through the rail, which was remote enough that no one would see them at work. Later reports agreed that the crash was caused by sabotage. No terrorist organisation took credit, and no motive for causing the crash could be established.

Thirteen months after the attack, police in Hyderabad arrested a man named Syed Abdul Nayeem, a [[Lashkar-e-Taiba]] activist, who failed a 'brainwave fingerprinting test' after being questioned by Indian police. He was charged with being involved in both this rail sabotage and a bombing which killed two people in the Sai Baba Temple.

==External links==
*[https://archive.today/20130505144307/http://newswww.bbc.net.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2596237.stm BBC News Report]
*[http://newswww.bbc.net.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2604559.stm BBC Report on possible sabotage]
*{{usurped|[https://web.archive.org/web/20081123020338/http://www.hinduonnet.com/2002/12/23/stories/2002122304530100.htm "The Hindu" News Report]}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070311125539/http://news.indiainfo.com/2003/03/07/07kurnool.html indiainfo.com Report]
*[http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_20-1-2004_pg7_51 Pakistan Daily Times article]

{{2002 railway accidents}}

{{coord|15.2849|N|77.6019|E|source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:IN|display=title}}

[[Category:2002 murders in India]]
[[Category:21st-century mass murder in India]]
[[Category:Mass murder in 2002]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in India in 2002]]
[[Category:Railway accidents and incidents in Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:Train wrecks caused by sabotage]]
[[Category:Railway accidents in 2002]]
[[Category:History of Andhra Pradesh (1947–2014)]]
[[Category:Kurnool district]]
[[Category:Transport in Kurnool district]]
[[Category:Crime in Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:December 2002 in India]]
[[Category:Islamic terrorism in India]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents on railway systems in India]]