spencer
2023-06-03 07:24:18 UTC
Rescuers were attempting to free people feared trapped in derailed
coaches, officials said.
NEW DELHI More than 280 people were killed and hundreds were injured
after passenger trains derailed Friday in eastern India, trapping many
people inside damaged rail cars, officials said.
More than 288 dead bodies were recovered overnight and into Saturday
morning, said Sudhanshu Sarangi, director of Odishas fire department.
About 900 people were injured in the accident in Balasore district in the
eastern state of Odisha, said P.K. Jena, the states top administrative
official. The cause was under investigation.
Hundreds of the injured were sent to hospitals following the accident,
which happened about 137 miles southwest of Kolkata. The cause was under
investigation.
About 1,200 rescue workers with 115 ambulances, 50 buses and 45 mobile
health units responded, officials said.
Rescuers were cutting through the destroyed rail cars to find people who
may still be trapped, but it is unlikely they would still be alive,
Sarangi said.
Amitabh Sharma, a railroad ministry spokesperson, said 10 to 12 coaches of
one train derailed, and debris from the mangled coaches fell onto a nearby
track. It was hit by another passenger train coming from the opposite
direction.
Up to three coaches of the second train also derailed.
The Press Trust of India news agency said the derailed Coromandel Express
was traveling from Howrah in West Bengal state to Chennai, the capital of
southern Tamil Nadu state.
A survivor told Asian News International he was asleep when the train car
flipped and several people fell on him
"At that time, I was under all of them," the survivor, who didn't give his
name, told the outlet. "When I came out of the train bogey, I saw someone
without a leg, someone without an arm, someone had a completely messed up
face."
Another passenger, Gobind Mondal, told News18 Bangla he had given up all
hope of survival after the train car he was on crashed.
Recommended
We thought we would die. We got out of the compartment with the help of a
broken window," he said. "We were taken to the dispensary for first aid. I
am out of danger but I saw some injured people who are in very bad
condition.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was distressed by the
accident.
In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. May
the injured recover soon, tweeted Modi, who said he had spoken to the
railway minister and that all possible assistance was being offered.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said he was rushing to the accident
site, while Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is expected to get there
Saturday morning.
Despite government efforts to improve rail safety, several hundred
accidents occur every year on Indias railways, the largest train network
under one management in the world.
In November 2016, more than 100 people were killed when 14 coaches of a
passenger train rolled off the track in northern India.
The following November, at least 39 people died and 50 were seriously
injured in a train derailment in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
In August 1995, two trains collided near New Delhi, killing 358 people in
the worst train accident in Indias history.
Most train accidents are blamed on human error or outdated signaling
equipment.
More than 12 million people ride 14,000 trains across India every day,
traveling on 40,000 miles of track.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/least-179-people-reported-injured-
passenger-train-derails-india-rcna87472
coaches, officials said.
NEW DELHI More than 280 people were killed and hundreds were injured
after passenger trains derailed Friday in eastern India, trapping many
people inside damaged rail cars, officials said.
More than 288 dead bodies were recovered overnight and into Saturday
morning, said Sudhanshu Sarangi, director of Odishas fire department.
About 900 people were injured in the accident in Balasore district in the
eastern state of Odisha, said P.K. Jena, the states top administrative
official. The cause was under investigation.
Hundreds of the injured were sent to hospitals following the accident,
which happened about 137 miles southwest of Kolkata. The cause was under
investigation.
About 1,200 rescue workers with 115 ambulances, 50 buses and 45 mobile
health units responded, officials said.
Rescuers were cutting through the destroyed rail cars to find people who
may still be trapped, but it is unlikely they would still be alive,
Sarangi said.
Amitabh Sharma, a railroad ministry spokesperson, said 10 to 12 coaches of
one train derailed, and debris from the mangled coaches fell onto a nearby
track. It was hit by another passenger train coming from the opposite
direction.
Up to three coaches of the second train also derailed.
The Press Trust of India news agency said the derailed Coromandel Express
was traveling from Howrah in West Bengal state to Chennai, the capital of
southern Tamil Nadu state.
A survivor told Asian News International he was asleep when the train car
flipped and several people fell on him
"At that time, I was under all of them," the survivor, who didn't give his
name, told the outlet. "When I came out of the train bogey, I saw someone
without a leg, someone without an arm, someone had a completely messed up
face."
Another passenger, Gobind Mondal, told News18 Bangla he had given up all
hope of survival after the train car he was on crashed.
Recommended
We thought we would die. We got out of the compartment with the help of a
broken window," he said. "We were taken to the dispensary for first aid. I
am out of danger but I saw some injured people who are in very bad
condition.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was distressed by the
accident.
In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. May
the injured recover soon, tweeted Modi, who said he had spoken to the
railway minister and that all possible assistance was being offered.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said he was rushing to the accident
site, while Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is expected to get there
Saturday morning.
Despite government efforts to improve rail safety, several hundred
accidents occur every year on Indias railways, the largest train network
under one management in the world.
In November 2016, more than 100 people were killed when 14 coaches of a
passenger train rolled off the track in northern India.
The following November, at least 39 people died and 50 were seriously
injured in a train derailment in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
In August 1995, two trains collided near New Delhi, killing 358 people in
the worst train accident in Indias history.
Most train accidents are blamed on human error or outdated signaling
equipment.
More than 12 million people ride 14,000 trains across India every day,
traveling on 40,000 miles of track.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/least-179-people-reported-injured-
passenger-train-derails-india-rcna87472