An accident involving three trains in the eastern state of Odisha in India has resulted in at least 261 deaths and 1,000 injuries, according to officials.
On Friday, a passenger train that detoured onto the track immediately adjacent to it was struck by an approaching train, which also struck a stationary freight train that was nearby.
Hundreds of emergency personnel searched the wreckage during a massive rescue operation.
The reason for the worst train accident in India this century is still unknown.
According to officials, the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express’s carriages derailed around 19:00 (13:00 GMT) in the Balasore district, collided with a stationary goods train, and several of the train’s coaches ended up on the opposite track.
The overturned carriages were then struck by another train, the Howrah Superfast Express, which was traveling from Yesvantpur to Howrah.
Atul Karwal, chief of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), stated to the news agency ANI, “The force with which the trains collided has resulted in the crushing and mending of several coaches.”
He claimed that it was the third deadliest railway accident in Indian history.
The state’s chief secretary, Pradeep Jena, said that more than 200 ambulances and hundreds of doctors, nurses, and rescue workers were sent to the scene.
Odisha Fire Services director general Sudhanshu Sarangi previously stated 288 deaths.
India’s South Eastern Railway company announced on Saturday that the rescue mission to recover individuals from the wreckage had concluded and that work to restore the crash site had begun.
All caught and harmed travelers have been saved. The extent of the injuries sustained by those transported to nearby medical facilities is unknown.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit the injured in the hospital later on Saturday. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is at the accident site.
“10 to 15 people fell on me when the accident happened and everything went haywire,” said one male survivor. I was the last one standing.
“I got injured in my grasp and furthermore the rear of my neck. At the point when I emerged, I saw somebody had lost their hand, somebody had lost their leg, while somebody’s face was misshaped,” the survivor told India’s ANI news office.
Here you can find Video animation of train accident https://twitter.com/i/status/1664843687921065984
India’s deadly train crashes
- June 1981: Seven of the nine coaches of an overcrowded train fell into a river during a cyclone
- August 1995, killing nearly 800 people: When two trains collide 200 kilometers (125 miles) from Delhi
- August 1999, at least 350 people are killed: At least 285 people were killed when two trains collided near Kolkata (formerly Calcutta)
- October 2005: A train derails in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, killing 77 people
- November 2016: When 14 carriages of the Indore-Patna Express train derail near the city of Kanpur Presentational grey line, approximately 150 people die and an equal number are injured. Residents of the nearby villages were among the first to reach the accident site and begin the rescue operation.
India’s train network is one of the largest in the world, and millions of passengers use it every day. However, a lot of the railway infrastructure needs to be improved.
During this time of year, when an increasing number of people travel during school breaks, trains can get very crowded.
The passenger lists on the website of the Indian rail ministry that were looked at by the BBC showed that both of the passenger trains involved in the accident were full, and there were many more people on the waiting list.
India’s worst train accident occurred in 1981 when, during a cyclone in the state of Bihar, an overcrowded passenger train was blown off the tracks and into a river, killing at least 800 people.
