At least 200 people have lost their lives and 850 others sustained injuries in a devastating train collision in India’s eastern state of Odisha, according to local officials.
The incident occurred when two express passenger trains collided on Friday near Bahanaga railway station in Balasore district. Reports suggest that eight coaches of the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express derailed after becoming entangled with another passenger train.
“The death toll of the horrific train accident in Odisha’s Balasore rises to 207 and 900 injured”, confirms Odisha Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena pic.twitter.com/o6IM5pWsYf
— ANI (@ANI) June 2, 2023
Sudhanshu Sarangi, the director general of Odisha Fire Services, confirmed the death toll and expressed concern that the number could rise further due to the severity of injuries, including head injuries. He described the incident as “very sad” and stated that the prognosis for many of the injured was not promising.
Indian Railways reported that the accident took place around 7 pm, prompting the dispatch of accident relief trains equipped with medical personnel and equipment. Multiple search and rescue teams were also deployed to the crash site.
Pradeep Kumar Jena, Odisha’s chief secretary, stated that at least 850 people had been injured and were receiving treatment at three local healthcare centers. More than 60 ambulances were sent to the scene, and when their capacity was exhausted, buses were arranged to transport the injured to medical facilities.
Jena emphasized that the immediate focus was on rescuing survivors and providing medical assistance. He mentioned that over 600-700 rescue personnel were involved in the operation and that the process of identifying the deceased would take place the following day.
TV stations aired footage showing local residents assisting the injured near the overturned train coaches. The ill-fated train had departed from West Bengal and was en route to Chennai in Tamil Nadu.
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…
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 2, 2023
Expressing his condolences, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to express his grief over the tragedy and assure assistance. He spoke with Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to assess the situation and confirmed that rescue operations were underway, with all necessary support being provided to those affected.
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