Hundreds dead, hospitalized in train derailment

“The challenge now is to identify the bodies. If the relatives can provide evidence, the bodies will be handed over after autopsy. If they are not identified, DNA tests and other protocols will need to be carried out. maybe,” he said.

Sharma said 10 to 12 carriages of one train derailed and debris from some of the wrecked carriages fell onto nearby tracks. Another passenger train coming from the opposite direction hit the rubble, derailing up to three carriages of a second train, he added.

A third train carrying freight was also caught, the Indian Press Trust reported, but there was no immediate confirmation from railway officials. PTI said some of the derailed carriages collided with carriages of a freight train.

Jena said the impact of the accident pushed the two vehicles against each other, delaying the rescue effort.

Officials said 1,200 rescue workers worked overnight in 115 ambulances, 50 buses and 45 mobile medical units. Saturday has been declared a day of mourning in Orissa.

Villagers reportedly rushed to the scene to evacuate people after hearing the loud noise of a train coming off the tracks.

“The locals were really desperate to help us. Not only did they help people escape, they also retrieved our luggage and gave us water,” PTI said of the survivors. Quoted from Rupam Banerjee.

Passenger Vandana Khaleda said the carriage shook violently and veered off the tracks, causing people to fall over each other.

“When I got out of the toilet, the train suddenly tilted. I couldn’t, my head stopped working,” she said.

Another survivor, who did not give his name, said he was asleep when the shock woke him up. He said he saw other passengers with broken limbs and scars on his face.

Officials said the clash involved two trains, the Coromandel Express from Howrah, West Bengal, to Chennai, Tamil Nadu, and the Howrah Super Express, from Bengaluru, Karnataka to Howrah. It was not immediately clear which one had derailed first.

India’s Minister of Railways, Ashwini Vaishnoh, said a high-level investigation would take place as opposition forces criticized the government and called for Mr Vaishnoh’s resignation.

Despite government efforts to improve rail safety, India’s rail network, the world’s largest rail network under a single administration, still experiences hundreds of accidents each year.

In August 1995, two trains collided near New Delhi in one of India’s worst train accidents, killing 358 people.

In 2016, a passenger train slid off the tracks between the cities of Indore and Patna, killing 146 people.

Most railway accidents are caused by human error or outdated signaling equipment.

Over 12 million people travel on 14,000 trains and 64,000 kilometers of track every day across India.

APs