Jan. 22: As many as 39 people were killed when Bhubaneswar-bound Hirakhand Express jumped tracks in Andhra Pradesh and rammed into a stationery goods wagons at 11pm on Saturday, prompting the railway to suggest "foul play" and local police to point fingers at "maintenance issues".

The train was travelling from Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh to Bhubaneswar when the accident took place near Vizianagaram, which is 24 km from Rayagada district headquarters in Odisha. The train had left Jagdalpur at 3pm on Saturday and was scheduled to arrive at Bhubaneswar at 8.25 this morning.

The derailment of the train's nine bogies at Kuneru railway station, which is over 400km from Bhubaneswar, also injured over 100 passengers, who are undergoing treatment at various hospitals in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.

Though the reason for its derailment is not known and a team of the railway safety commissioner is arriving at Kuneru tomorrow to probe the incident, railway officials and police in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh police have come up with divergent opinions on what had led to the mishap in a zone where Maoists are active.

While railway officials suspected "sabotage", Odisha's director general of police K.B. Singh ruled out the involvement of Maoists in the accident.

"So far, there is no evidence regarding the involvement of Maoists," Singh said. Rayagada and neighbouring districts of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are known for Maoist activities.

Ranga Rao, the Vizianagaram police chief, also echoed Singh.

Rao said: "As of now, we have not found any evidence to link the incident to Maoists. The accident appears to have happened because of some maintenance issues but I am not the authority to confirm it."

However in New Delhi, railways spokesperson Anil Saxena said prima facie there was rail fracture that caused the derailment. But it has to be ascertained whether the fracture was due to sabotage or because of negligence and lack of maintenance.

"The real cause will be known only after the inquiry," Saxena said.

Saying that the incident happened before Republic Day, Saxena said: "There are indications of foul play as a goods train passed the same track just two hours before the mishap. A patrol team also found the track okay yesterday," he said.

The driver applied emergency brake after feeling a big jerk and heard a loud sound, Saxena added.

Sources said the team of the railway safety commissioner would look into the possibility of tampering with the track.

Two AC coaches, four sleeper coaches, two general compartments and the guard-cum-passenger coach next to the engine of the train suffered derailment. Four of these coaches had also overturned.

Even as the debate over what caused the accident goes on, survivors of the mishap are yet to come out of their trauma.

"There was a loud noise and the lights went off in the compartment. I was thrown out of my seat and I could hear people screaming all around. I lost my consciousness for a while and later when I came out of the train, I saw people running along the track towards the engine," said Debendra Mohanty, 47, a primary school teacher from Jeypore in Koraput district. Mohanty was on his way to Bhubaneswar.

Bhagaban Majhi, 26, whose right leg has been fractured in the accident, said: "I was fast asleep. I woke up to a loud noise and found myself buried under the luggage. I turned around to find some of my co-passengers lying dead near my berth."

"I am lucky to survive," said Majhi, who had boarded the train at Jeypore in Koraput district.

Recalling the traumatic moment, passenger Balaji Mohanty, 45, said: "After the accident took place, within half an hour the officials reached the spot and started rescue operation. They brought the cutters and other instruments and detached the derailed bogies from the train."

Personnel of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and their counterparts in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh rushed their teams to rescue the victims. The victims were shifted to hospitals in Parvathipuram, Visakhapatnam and Rayagada.

Railway minister Suresh Prabhu, senior railway officials and Odisha's chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi visited the accident site and supervised relief operations.

"All the possible angles behind the accidents will be looked into at the time of probe," said Prabhu at Rayagada.

"The railway will provide free treatment of the injured. All the 39 bodies have been retrieved. The identification process is going on. A special train is bringing the survivors to Bhubaneswar," said Padhi.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik reviewed the situation at a meeting today, while President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the deaths.

Union home minister Rajnath Singh and Union minister of state for petroleum and natural gas Dharmendra Pradhan have also expressed grief over the accident.

The railway authorities have cancelled at least seven trains and diverted 17 other due to the mishap.

"All efforts are being taken up to clear the line by tonight," said East Coast Railway PRO J.P. Mishra.

The railway has announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the families of the victims, while Odisha and Andra Pradesh governments have announced Rs 5 lakh for the families of the victims of their respective states.