The rail tragedy in India’s Odisha state on Saturday was the bloodiest in the nation in more than a decade, with at least 233 people killed and 900 wounded.
The state’s chief secretary, Pradeep Jena, stated on Twitter that the number of fatalities from Friday’s collision is likely to climb.
He also said that more than two hundred ambulances had been sent to the Balasore district of Odisha, and that eighty of the region’s physicians had been joined by an additional one hundred.
Saturday morning, Reuters cameras saw law enforcement personnel removing white-sheeted remains off the train tracks.
On Friday, cameras saw rescue workers scrambling up one of the derailed trains in search of survivors, as distraught passengers cried out for aid near the scene.
The Howrah Superfast Express was travelling from Bangalore to Howrah, West Bengal, when it collided with the Coromandel Express, which was travelling from Kolkata to Chennai, at about 19:00 local time (1330 GMT) on Friday.
Which train derailed first and became entangled with the other has been disputed by authorities. The Railways Ministry has announced that an inquiry into the matter has begun.
Railway officials have not commented on the likelihood of a goods train being involved in the incident, despite claims by Chief Secretary Jena and certain media outlets.
Hundreds of firefighters and police officials, aided by sniffer dogs, have launched a massive search and rescue effort. There were also personnel from the National Disaster Response Force there.
Hundreds of young people waited in line to give blood at a government hospital in Soro, Odisha, on Friday.
Over 13 million passengers are moved every day thanks to Indian Railways’ infrastructure, the company claims. However, the state-owned monopoly’s safety record has been inconsistent due to its outdated facilities.
To show respect for the victims, Odisha’s Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik proclaimed June 3 a day of state mourning.
