On Friday, a horrific train collision in India claimed the lives of over 288 people and left more than 900 injured, according to local reports.
The collision involving three trains – the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express and a goods train – in India’s eastern state of Odisha is one among the most lethal rail accidents in the country in over two decades.
Train crash in India’s Odisha
The accident resulted in mangled train compartments, flipped carriages, and blood-stained wreckage, according to local reports, which also said that entire carriages were flipped over, trapping passengers within the wreckage.
Rescue workers searched for survivors trapped between the twisted metal.
On Saturday, Sudhanshu Sarangi, the director general of Odisha Fire Services, confirmed the death toll of 288, adding that rescue efforts were still ongoing and that there were numerous serious injuries among the survivors.
“The rescue work is still going on,” he told, adding that there are “a lot of serious injuries”.
Amitabh Sharma, the executive director at Indian Railways, explained the sequence of events leading to the collision.
Two passenger trains were actively involved in the accident, while a goods train parked at the site also became involved in the collision.
Approximately ten to twelve coaches of one train derailed, with debris from the wreckage falling onto a nearby track.
Another passenger train approaching from the opposite direction collided with the debris, resulting in more derailment and destruction, Sharma said.
The reports also cited SK Panda, a spokesperson for Odisha state, who said that major government and private hospitals along the route from the accident site to the state capital were prepared to provide care to those in need.
A total of 75 ambulances were dispatched to the site, accompanied by additional buses to transport survivors and injured passengers, Panda said.
Prime Minister of India expresses his “distress”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his distress, via Twitter, over the tragedy and offered his condolences to the bereaved families.
“Distressed by the train accident in Odisha. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon. Spoke to Railway Minister @AshwiniVaishnaw and took stock of the situation. Rescue ops are underway at the site of the mishap and all possible assistance is being given to those affected,” Modi said.
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