Asia

At least 50 dead, 350 injured in train crash in eastern India: Reports

BHUBANESWAR: At least 50 people were killed and 350 injured in India when two passenger trains collided in the eastern Indian state of Odisha on Friday (Jun 2), Indian media reported.

The Coromandel Express, which runs from Kolkata to Chennai, collided with another passenger train, the Howrah Superfast Express, railway officials said.

The Howrah Superfast Express derailed and became entangled with the Coromandel Express, South Eastern Railway authorities said in a statement.

Media reports had earlier said that the crash was between the Coromandel Express and a goods train.

There was no official confirmation yet on the number of dead in the disaster, which took place in Balasore district. Media reports said that at least 50 people had died.

South Eastern Railway officials, who did not want to be named, said that they feared heavy casualties, without disclosing the number of deaths.

So far, more than 350 injured passengers had been admitted to various hospitals, Odisha’s Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena told reporters.

Images from the scene showed rescuers climbing up the mangled wreck of one of the trains to find survivors.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said authorities’ priority was “removing the living to the hospitals, that’s our first concern, to look after the living”.

Rescue operations were underway at the site and “all possible assistance” is being given to those affected, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a tweet.

The collision is a “grave accident”,  West Bengal’s chief secretary HK Dwivedi told reporters.

“I can’t comment on the details right now and casualty figures. I was in Delhi and rushing to the accident site,” South Eastern Railway general manager Archana Joshi told Reuters.

Joshi said that a large number of injured were being shifted to hospitals.

“Railway rescue teams from Kharagpur and other nearby stations have already reached the site. Relief and rescue are underway,” he said.

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