Three trains collided in eastern India, resulting in the probable deaths of at least 50 individuals and the injuries of hundreds more.
On Friday evening in Odisha’s Balasore district, a passenger train derailed and collided with another passenger train, which then collided with a cargo train. D B Shinde, the district administrator of Balasore in the state of Odisha, stated that rescuers were attempting to free 200 persons believed to be trapped in derailed coaches.
After the collision, the Kolkata-to-Chennai-bound Coromandel Express derailed and collapsed onto the opposite track. According Sky reporter from India, the accident occurred at approximately 7.30 p.m. local time and that all hospitals in the Balasore district have been placed on high alert.
The reporter also said the trains involved in the crash run along important routes which are “one of the main artery tracks” of the eastern side of the country’s network.
He added that a number of prominent officials have been dispatched to the site to coordinate rescue operations. Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi stated that he is “distressed” by the tragedy and that rescue operations are currently underway.
Pradeep Jena, Odisha’s chief secretary, said: “Nearly 50 ambulances have reported but the injured appear far too many. Large (number) of buses being mobilised to shift injured to hospital.”
Amitabh Sharma, a spokesman for the railway ministry, stated that mangled pieces of the derailed train fell onto an adjacent track and were struck by an opposing passenger train.
Every day, over 12 million passengers ride 14,000 trains across 40,000 miles of track in India.
