Berhampur, Jan. 23: A five-member team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) today visited the accident site at Kuneru in Vizinagaram district of Andhra Pradesh where the Bhubaneswar-bound Hirakhand Express derailed on Saturday and 39 persons were killed.

The purpose of the team is to ascertain whether the accident was caused by sabotage as the inaccessible region on the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border has a strong presence of Maoists.

Official sources here today said the driver, D.N. Raju, assistant driver B.S. Meena and the guard, L. Laxman Rao, who were manning the train, have escaped unhurt. They have given their versions of the incident to the teams of NIA and the Railway Safety Commission. As the accident took place barely 1.5km from Kuneru station, which is 24km away from Rayagada, officials have recorded the statements of the Kuneru station master, track patrolling men and other railway staff.

Biswas Kumar, a member of the NIA team, said: "We visited Rayagada Hospital and spoke to a few injured passengers today. We are trying to ascertain the reason behind the accident." The team was accompanied by officials of the Andhra Pradesh police. If the team gathers evidence of sabotage, the NIA will formally probe into the case.

"We have kept all our options open. We are trying to find out if there is any terror link to the accident. We are aware of the startling revelations made by Bihar police that Pakistan's ISI was behind the Indore-Patna Express derailment near Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, which claimed 150 lives (on November 20, 2016)," said another member of the NIA team.

Forensic teams from various agencies, including the Odisha police, today collected forensic evidence from the accident site.

In another development, the commissioner, Railway Safety, Ram Kripal, today arrived in Rayagada and collected statements from various people. The commissioner met several injured persons in various hospitals in Rayagada and Parvatipuram. "Anyone who knows anything about the accident can depose before the team. The process will continue till the end of the inquiry. We are looking into all aspects of the tragic incident," said Ram Kripal.

Official sources said the railway officials suspected tampering of the rail track, which resulted in the accident. It has also come to the notice of the officials that the track had not been maintained properly. "We are looking into all angles," said an official.

While the railway authorities here said 39 people were killed, unofficial reports put the death toll at 41.

Of the 39 dead, 13 were women and three minors. "We have identified all the deceased persons and their bodies, after postmortem, will be sent to their respective homes," said a railway official.