Human error is primarily responsible for the collision of Ahmedabad-bound Sabarmati express with a goods train near Samaliya in Gujarat, 30 km from Vadodara, on Thursday, which, as per latest reports, has claimed 17 lives, a senior railway official said.

"Prima facie it appears to be a case of human error on the part of the staff at B Cabin in Samaliya. The guard on duty is untraceable," General Manager of Railways M Ansari told PTI at the site of the mishap.

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"The Railways is doing everything to help the victims," he said, adding the rescue workers are using gas cutters to pull out trapped passengers, if any, from mangled coaches.

The rail service on the Vadodara-Delhi route has been disrupted and several trains have been diverted. Efforts are being made to remove the eight mangled coaches from the tracks so that the traffic is restored, Railways officials said.

Several special trains have also left for the mishap site.