India's anti-terror agency takes over probe of train accident as death toll rises to 41

India's anti-terror agency Monday took over the investigation of Saturday's fatal train accident in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh as death toll rose to 41.

"Sleuths of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) reached the accident site and made a reccee of the area to find out if the derailment was an act of sabotage by Pakistan-based terror outfits," a senior police official said, on condition of anonymity.

Apart from NIA, the criminal investigation department of Andhra Pradesh is also looking into the derailment of a passenger train late Saturday night.

Meanwhile, railway officials said that the death toll rose to 41, with the deaths of some of over 55 injured in nearby hospitals.

The mishap happened in the state's Vizianagaram district around 11.30 p.m. (local time) Saturday when eight coaches and the engine of the Jagdalpur-Bhubaneswar Express went off tracks near border of the neighboring eastern state of Odisha.

The train was going from Jagdalpur in the eastern state of Chhattisgarh to Odisha capital Bhubaneswar when the incident took place.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had condoled the deaths, saying the "tragedy is saddening". "The Railway Ministry is monitoring the situation very closely and is working to ensure quick rescue and relief operations," he had tweeted.

Indian Railways is one of the world's largest train networks, criss-crossing the country from north to south, and carrying 22 million passengers daily. But train accidents are fairly common in India, where much of the railway equipment is out of date.

In November last year, over 140 people were killed when a passenger train derailed in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. In March 2015, another accident in the same state killed 39 people and injured 150.

The Indian government had in 2015 announced investments of 137 billion U.S. dollars over five years to modernise and expand the railways. Endit