Shocking footage reveals devastation from India’s worst rail crash in 20 years that left 288 dead

Shocking images have revealed the extent of devastation following India’s worst rail crash in 20 years, which left nearly 300 dead and 900 injured.

Aerial footage shows several wagons derailing, some of them overturned and lying next to the track – hundreds standing next to them.

Devastated villagers have told harrowing stories of the disaster. One man, Suryaveer, said he found out his mother had died in the crash after getting a picture and recognizing the dress she was wearing.

It comes after a collision involving three trains on Friday night in Odisha, India, killed at least 288 people and hospitalized about 900 people.

Tutu Biswas, who was on the train, said he saw “many people injured,” including a “little child” who died shortly after crying for their parents.

The death toll is expected to rise as rescuers continue to wade through the wreckage looking for survivors and bodies.

Suryaveer said BBC news: ‘My mother and my grandmother were on the train. They went to the city to buy medicine.

“A few hours after the accident I found my grandmother. She lived. But my mother was missing. We looked for her everywhere, but couldn’t find her.

“This morning I heard from one of my friends. They sent me a picture of a body – it was my mother. She was wearing the same dress.’

He added that all he wanted was to get her body home safely, but the area was engulfed in chaos with roads blocked.

Sudhanshu Sarangi, director general of Odisha Fire Services, said the death toll stood at 288 but was expected to rise, possibly near 380.

He said: “Many people rushed to hospitals succumb there and we are still pulling out the bodies.

“The rescue work is still going on here as there are some bodies under the bogies and teams are trying to lift them up to get them out.”

About 900 people were injured in the accident and the cause is still being investigated, said PK Jena, the state’s top administrative officer.

Witness Tutu Bis was also told BBC news: ‘We heard a loud noise. When we came out of the house, we saw that this accident happened outside. I saw that the freight train had climbed onto another train.

“When I arrived at the scene, I saw that many people were injured, many people had died. A small child was crying whose parents had probably died. That child also died after a while. It was horrible.’

On Saturday, rescuers were seen cutting through the destroyed train cars to find people who may still be trapped.

Sarangi added that it was possible there were people underneath, but it was unlikely that they would still be alive.

Late Friday night, hundreds of people were trapped in more than a dozen wrecked carriages as rescuers tried to free them.

Sarangi said, “At 10 p.m. on Friday, we were able to rescue the survivors. Then it was about picking up dead bodies. This is very, very tragic. I’ve never seen anything like it in my career.’

Ten to 12 carriages from one train derailed and debris from some of the mutilated carriages fell onto a nearby track, said Amitabh Sharma, a spokesman for the railway ministry.

The debris was hit by another passenger train coming from the opposite direction, which also derailed three carriages of the second train, he added.

A third train carrying cargo was also involved, the Press Trust of India reported. PTI said some of the derailed passenger cars hit freight train cars.

Up to 1,200 rescuers worked all night with 115 ambulances, 50 buses and 45 mobile health units at the scene of the accident, officials said.

And Saturday was declared a day of mourning in Odisha as the chief minister of the state, Naveen Patnaik, reached the district to meet injured passengers.

Villagers said they rushed to the site to evacuate people after hearing a loud noise from the train cars coming off the tracks.

Survivor Rupam Banerjee told PTI: ‘The locals really went out of their way to help us. Not only did they help unload people, but they also collected our luggage and brought us water.’

Another passenger, Vandana Kaleda, said that on the train during the derailment, people “collapsed” as her carriage shook violently and went off the rails.

She said, “As I stepped out of the washroom, the train suddenly overturned. I lost my balance. Everything turned upside down.

“People started falling for each other and I was shocked and didn’t understand what was happening. My mind stopped working.’

Another survivor who did not give his name said he was asleep when the impact woke him up. He said he saw other passengers with broken limbs and disfigured faces.

More than 12 million people ride 14,000 trains every day across India, on 65,000 kilometers of track.

Friday’s crash is the third worst and deadliest since 1995, when two express trains collided in Firozabad, near Agra, killing more than 300 people.

The disaster comes despite new investments and upgrades in technology that have significantly improved rail safety in recent years.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his thoughts were with the bereaved. He tweeted: “May the injured recover quickly.”

Indian Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said a high-level inquiry would be conducted as the political opposition criticized the government and called for Vaishnaw to resign.

Despite the government’s efforts to improve rail safety, several hundred accidents occur each year on India’s railways, the world’s largest rail network under a single management.