At least 260 people were killed and 650 injured in India’s worst train crash in 20 years, after a passenger train went off the tracks in the east of the country and collided with another train. A South Eastern Railway spokesman said. An extensive search and rescue operation was launched, involving hundreds of firefighters, police officers and sniffer dogs.
Video footage shows derailed train carriages and damaged tracks, making it difficult for rescue teams to search for survivors in the badly damaged carriages. A witness who was involved in the rescue operations calls the cries of the wounded and relatives of the dead heartbreaking. The injured are taken to hospitals in Balasore district, Odisha state.
The incident occurred at around 7pm local time on Friday when the Howrah Superfast Express from Bangalore to Howrah in West Bengal collided with the Coromandel Express from Calcutta to Chennai. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is now at the scene, ANI news agency said based on sources. Odisha State Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena said on Twitter that more than 200 ambulances had been called to the scene and nearly 200 medics were now at the scene.
Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has promised the families of the dead 1 million rupees ($12,000) while the seriously injured will receive 200,000 rupees. Vaishhnaw speaks of a “major, tragic incident”. “Our full attention goes to rescue and relief operations and we try to ensure that the injured receive the best possible treatment.”
Source: BNR
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