The dramatic accident happened on Friday evening around 7 p.m. local time (3:30 p.m. Belgian time) near the town of Balasore, located in the state of Odisha on the stretch between Calcutta and Chennai in eastern India.
Two passenger trains and a freight train were involved in the accident, government officials told local media. Some carriages of a passenger train derailed after a collision with a freight train. The carriages would have ended up on a different track. Another passenger train then collided with those carriages and was itself partly derailed.
In India, dozens of railway accidents occur every year, but rarely do so many casualties occur. Local authorities report that 900 people were injured.
People were still trapped for hours after the accident. A major rescue operation was launched. Dozens of ambulances have been sent to the scene of the accident, as have rescue teams. However, the death toll continues to rise as there are many seriously injured. This is reported by the fire department of the state of Odisha.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said on Twitter that his thoughts go out to the families involved. According to him, “all possible help” is being given to the victims. The government will pay money to the injured and next of kin. Modi will fly to the scene of the disaster today and will visit the injured in hospital.
Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said he was on his way to the scene of the accident. He has ordered an investigation to determine the cause of the accident.
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
India has one of the largest train networks in the world. More than twelve million people ride one of the 14,000 trains every day, covering a total of 40,000 miles. From 1980 to 2002, an average of 475 trains per year derailed, quoted The New York Times a 2021 Indian railway officials presentation.
Investments in the rail network have reduced the number of derailments since the beginning of the century to about 50 per year.
