Death toll in India train accident rises to over 1,000
(Baonghean.vn) - An official from the government of Odisha state, India, told AFP news agency on June 3 that the death toll in the collision of two passenger trains in the state has increased to 288 people and more than 850 others were injured.
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The scene of an accident between two passenger trains in Balasore district, in the eastern Indian state of Odisha on June 3. Photo: Reuters |
This is the most serious rail accident in India in more than 20 years.
According to AFP, Sudhanshu Sarangi, director general of Odisha's fire department, also said that rescue work was still ongoing and "there are many people seriously injured".
State official Pradeep Jena wrote on Twitter that more than 200 ambulances were dispatched to the scene of the accident that occurred on June 2 in Odisha's Balasore district, along with 100 doctors mobilized to add to the 80 available personnel there.
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Rescuers carry the victim's body out. Photo: Reuters |
Early on June 3, Reuters news agency footage showed police officers removing bodies wrapped in white cloth from the tracks.
A male passenger who survived the accident told NDTV: “I was sleeping and was woken up by the noise of the derailment. Suddenly I saw 10-15 people dead. I tried to crawl out of the train and then I saw many bodies that were not intact.”
Footage filmed on June 2 also showed rescue workers climbing aboard a derailed train to search for survivors, while passengers cried out for help and sobbed next to the wreckage.
The accident occurred at around 7:00 p.m. local time (8:30 p.m. Vietnam time) on June 2, when the Howrah Superfast Express, running from Bangalore to Howrah, West Bengal, collided with the Coromandel Express, running from Kolkata to Chennai.
The Indian Railways Ministry said it had begun an investigation into the incident. Authorities have not commented on reports that another freight train was involved in the accident.
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Passengers' luggage was scattered in the badly damaged train car after the accident. Photo: Reuters |
A massive search and rescue operation has been launched involving hundreds of fire, rescue and police personnel, along with sniffer dogs. Teams from India’s National Disaster Response Force are also at the scene.
Hundreds of young people lined up outside a government hospital in Odisha to donate blood to save victims.
According to information from the Indian Railways, their network serves the travel of more than 13 million people/day, however the facilities are old, making safety no longer guaranteed.
According to Reuters, the most serious accident in India occurred in 1981, when a train flew off a bridge and fell into a river in Bihar state, killing about 800 people.
