India is trying to understand the causes of the train accident
Rescue operations were completed in India on Saturday evening, 24 hours after the train derailment. The current death toll of 288 may rise further.
The tragedy unfolded near Balasore, about 200 kilometers from Bhubaneswar, the capital of the eastern Indian state of Odisha.
AFP
Indian authorities are trying to understand the causes of Sunday’s train tragedy that killed at least 288 people. The search and rescue operations for the victims are now complete and it is time to question the precise course of events that unfolded on Friday evening.
Confusion prevails at this point, but media reports quoting railway officials have indicated that three trains collided due to a signal error, making it one of the worst train disasters in the country’s history.
“Not responsible” is omitted
The Coromandel Express connecting Calcutta to Madras was mistakenly diverted and collided with a stationary freight train, according to these media. The accident derailed the third convoy of an express train connecting Bengaluru and Calcutta, matching the first two.
The tragedy unfolded near Balasore, about 200 kilometers from Bhubaneswar, the capital of the eastern Indian state of Odisha. Anubhav Das, a passenger, says he heard “terrible and terrible sounds in the distance”. The young man was in the last compartment of the second train. At least 288 people died and 900 were injured in the tragedy, the worst train accident in 22 years.
According to Sudanshu Sarangi, Chief Executive of Odisha State Fire Service, the death toll is expected to rise further, with another 380 dead. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who visited the crash site and met the injured in hospital on Saturday, vowed that “no one responsible” would be spared. “I pray that we get out of this sad moment soon,” he told public broadcaster Doordarshan.
“All bodies and wounded evacuated”
Rescue operations ended on Saturday evening, about 24 hours after the accident. “All bodies and injured passengers have been evacuated from the crash site,” the manager of the emergency coordination room in Balasore, near the site of the tragedy, told AFP.
Officials said that all hospitals between the accident site and Bhubaneswar are receiving treatment. About 200 ambulances and even buses were mobilized to transport them. After the clash, “people were screaming, calling for help,” survivor Arjun Das told Indian television. Passengers were thrown from their berths, “wounds lay everywhere on the wagons and rails,” he added, insisting he wanted to “forget the scenes” he witnessed.
AFP journalists saw overturned wagons and rescuers working tirelessly to extract survivors. Many corpses were covered in white shrouds. Hiranmay Rath, a student near the train tracks, rushed to help. It was like “the sky fell on us or the earth split.”
On 6 June 1981, seven wagons of a train crossing a bridge in the state of Bihar (East) plunged into the Bagmati River, killing between 800 and 1000 people, the worst train accident in the country’s history till date.
AFP
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