In Pictures: India’s worst train disaster in 20 years
Rescuers race against time to pull survivors from the wreckage of a train collision in eastern India as the death toll has risen to more than 230 people.
About 900 people were injured in the accident in Balasore district in the eastern state of Odisha, said Pradeep Jena, the state’s chief administrative officer. The cause was investigated.
Hundreds more were trapped overnight in more than a dozen mutilated train cars in one of the country’s deadliest rail accidents in two decades.
The accident, which occurred about 220 kilometers (137 mi) southwest of Kolkata on Friday night, led to chaotic scenes as rescuers climbed atop the wrecked trains to break doors and windows open with torches to free survivors.
Sudhanshu Sarangi, director of the Odisha fire service, said it was possible people were trapped underneath but it was unlikely they would be alive.
“By 10pm (on Friday) we were able to rescue the survivors. After that it was about picking up dead bodies,” he said. “This is very, very tragic. I have 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 freight was also involved, the Press Trust of India reported, but there was no immediate confirmation from railway authorities. PTI said some of the derailed passenger cars hit freight train cars.
Dozens of bodies, covered in white sheets, lay on the ground near the tracks as locals and rescuers rushed to help survivors.
Teams of rescuers and police continued to search the ruins on Saturday morning as the search continued amid fears the death toll is likely to rise further.
Dozens of people also came to a local hospital to donate blood.
Officials said 1,200 rescuers with 115 ambulances, 50 buses and 45 mobile health units worked through the night at the scene of the accident.
Saturday was declared a day of mourning in Odisha as the chief minister of the state, Naveen Patnaik, visited the district to meet injured passengers.