The Coromandel Express passenger train from Kolkata to Chennai collided with a freight train in Odisha state, derailed and then fell onto the opposite track, Indian media reports. According to official figures, 28 people died and around 300 were injured. Some media reports speak of around 50 dead and 350 injured.
A senior Odisha government official tweeted: “Nearly 50 ambulances are on the scene but the number of injured appears to be far too high. A large number of buses are being mobilized to take the injured to hospital.”
According to the police, the details of the accident are not yet clear. Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted “dismayed by the train crash”. “In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the bereaved. May the injured recover soon.”
Local media showed images of a train car that had fallen onto one side of the tracks, apparently containing survivors, and local residents trying to get other victims to safety.
Despite the government’s efforts to improve rail safety, several hundred accidents occur on Indian railways every year. Most train accidents are attributed to human error or outdated signaling equipment. In India, more than 12 million people travel 64,000 kilometers in 14,000 trains every day.
uh/sti (rtr, afp, dpa)